A Little Night Music
by srgeman
Summary: My name is Angela, and when I died, I thought my life was over. Little did I know my new life would begin, and I would travel the region with strange people while someone tries to kill me. What fun
1. Concerto

National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help

**AN: **As you know, ALNM was removed due to being reported. I have removed the stuff that violates the rules, and have reposted.

**I: Concerto**

Suicide is the worst thing a person can do. It is the most arrogant, idiotic, stubborn, asinine act a person can commit. It's a person's way of looking at the world and saying, "You've beaten me. I give up. The problems of the world are too great for me. I'm pathetic, and my life was a waste."

My name is Angela, and I was one of those pathetic people. I surrendered around the time I was sixteen. I didn't want to go on living. I didn't want things to get better. I just wanted it to end. But life and death, they don't work that way.

Oh no, my life ended when I killed my self, but my new life began. And boy, my new life was something! What, with the murder attempts, the battles with other pokemon, and trying to show Michael who I am. But that's getting ahead of the story. To begin, I need to go back to the day I proved I was a failure. You know, in hindsight, I can see now just how stupid my little problems were. I wish I could have seen them then.

_Nobody can even see me._

This thought had been going through my mind for weeks now. I was sitting on a bank beside a creek, in the woods outside of my town. I would have stared at my reflection, but the water was so murky, I could see nothing. Sighing, I decided to head back into a town.

At this time in the afternoon, most adults were at work. Most children were playing with their friends, except some who had turned ten. They had left on their Pokemon journeys. I would have gone, six years earlier, but I chose not to. Now, I envied them...oh how I envied them.

I walked through a haze. I wasn't sure where I was going. Somehow, I ended up on my street, and was walking by my neighbor Michael's house.

"Hello, little girl," Some one behind me said. Sighing, I turned to see Michael there, smiling. He always called me little girl. Maybe because he enjoyed the fact I disliked it. In his hands, he held an egg that appeared to be glowing.

"That egg looks like its about to hatch. Shouldn't you take it somewhere?" Michael shook his head.

"A Pokemon bonds with the first human it sees. I've been instructed how to help it in the hatching. I have an area in side my house all set up. I came out here, though, because you seem depressed." His face filled with concern. "Are you depressed, Angela?" I shrugged.

"Remember six years ago, when I had the chance to become a Pokemon trainer, but I refused?" Michael nodded.

"Yeesh, I'm amazed you've been hung up on that for so long, but yeah, I remember. You refused, because you thought your parents didn't want you to go"

"I refused because I thought my parents cared," I laughed. "Well, that was a crock of shit. My parents care about getting buzzed. At least you had a legitimate reason. You refused because you wanted your starter to be something you hatched yourself," I sniffled. "Well, you're going to get your way."

"Look, I'm sorry" Michael apologized. "If there's anything I can do-"

"No, there's not," I said, temporarily regaining control over my emotions. "But don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Without another word, I waved good bye and went over and into my house.

"You know," Michael mumbled, "There is another reason why I stayed behind..."

As I closed and latched the front door, I slipped down to the ground, sobbing. I hated my life! I hated every aspect of it! That no one seemed to notice me, nor did they seem care. I always wondered if anyone had felt that way, the way I did. I had wondered for a long time, and over the last few weeks, I decided to do something about it. Today at the river, I had confirmed to myself what I was going to do.

Checking my watch, I confirmed it was a little past four. This meant my parents were at some bar, but only slightly drunk. Both of my parents are on disability, but they use this money to buy booze. I bet you're wondering how they can afford to live on disability if they spend their money getting plastered.

They can't.

They had never loved me. Rather, they chose to ignore me. They ignored my please to become a Pokemon trainer. They only noticed me long enough to tell me my birth was a mistake. My mother has told me on more then one occasion that I exist because they didn't use birth control. A mistake. Well, I thought, this will make them see.

I wish now I could look them both in the face and tell them the truth. That I hated them. That they were pathetic parents. That they were worthless excuses for human beings. That nothing they ever said affected me, and that I was going to be great, just to spite them. But I can't.

I ran up the stairs to my room. I had been prepared for this. I wanted to do this now, because no one would be coming by for a while. I closed and locked the door to my room, and walked slowly over to my bed. Reaching around under it, I found a coil of rope. Exactly what I needed.

At the time, the rope had felt firm in my hand, but it had also felt like the only thing holding me together. I know that sounds strange, that the tool I would use for suicide was the only thing holding me together, but it's true. It shouldn't have felt that way. When I touched it, my blood should have run cold. Instead, my heart skipped a beat.

Pulling out the rope, I looked up at the ceiling light that hung down from my ceiling. It hung down on a metal rod, one I was sure could support my weight.

I tied the rope around the light, then tied the end into a makeshift noose. If I got in it, I would hang about a foot off of the ground, suspended in death. Perfect.

_Do I really want to do this?_ I stood up on my chair. _I mean, yes, my life is hard, but isn't every bodies?_ I pulled the noose around my head. _I-I don't think I want to do this_

"I don't want to do this" I whispered. Unfortunately, I had already begun to kick the chair away as I came to this realization. The chair hit the ground with a heavy thud. I struggled with the noose as my body swung. Then…

The rope snapped. The moment I was making process to get my head out, the rope snapped, and I was falling. Falling to the ground, but then through it!

"How the hell!" I screamed as I fell. I could see between the floor and ceiling, then my living room, then the floor again. But when I fell through the floor this time, I didn't go into the earth. I wasn't one hundred percent sure where I went.

I was standing on something, but I couldn't see what it was. Everything was black with the exception of my body. I could see my body perfectly against this black background. I couldn't hear or smell anything. I could feel pain in my neck though and it hurt like hell. I could even see bruises.

"Hello, Angela. I thought you would never get here!" I flipped around, to see a creature floating there.

"Who are you?!" I cried. The creature was little more then pink floating cat thing. It had a giant head on a body that looked like it had been put through a taffy puller. Its tail flicked back and forth as it studied me.

"I think you know," It laughed. "I'm Mew!"

"Mew?"

"That's right." I nodded.

"I don't believe in you."

"That's funny, I don't believe in me either" It said, while flipping in front of me. "However, I am Mew."

"Then shouldn't you only be saying your name?"

"If you were alive, that would be all you would hear." The gravity of that statement hit me instantly.

"If...I were alive." Mew nodded. "Then...then this means..."

"Your suicide worked a lot better then you," Mew said. "You were killed. In fact, your body is hanging in your room as we speak. It might be discovered any moment now."

"I don't understand," I gasped, trying to come to grips with this. "Why are you here? Do you appear to every one? Where's Arceus? I kind of expected to see him."

"Arceus is busy," Mew said, "And humans, when they die, generally are visited by someone else. Griatina visit's most pokemon who die. Under special circumstance, Arceus and me would see pokemon when they die. If you haven't figured out yet, this occasion is special."

"What's special about me?" I groaned. "I was invisible in life. I was a loser."

"Was that an excuse to kill yourself?"

"My life was hard."

"So?" Mew looked at me like I was the stupidest creature in the world. He was right.

"So, I have no friends, no future, and I've been raised by parents who don't love me."

"Ah, you do have a friend. Michael cares very much about you," Mew cried. "Michael would have come to love you one day!" I stared, mouth agape.

"He-he loves me?"

"He will. Or he would have. You know what I find ironic? He worshiped you like a goddess. You said no one knew you existed, but he knew! Better then anyone! And you ignored him! Puts things into perspective, doesn't it?" I began to brake down.

"Can't I go back?" I cried. Mew shook his head.

"No, not I, nor any legendary, nor any pokemon, human, or any thing under the sun can bring you back. This life is gone. However, there is one other thing." I looked up.

"One other thing?" Mew nodded.

"I can give you a second life."

"As a human?"

"No." Oh boy. It hit me suddenly.

"A-as a pokemon?" Mew nodded. "I don't understand."

"I'm offering you this chance, Miss Angela, because you regretted killing yourself as you did it. You would still be alive if you had had just one more second. So, I'm here to offer you something.

"You will be reborn as a pokemon. Now, I know how miserable you were as a human, so I can promise you this, your life as a pokemon will be difficult, but you will be happy. You will have a master who loves you. You will be his first. What he does with you, nobody knows, not even me. To get this, just ask."

I weighed the options in my head. New life as a pokemon, or who knows what would come next. If I refused, I suppose I would be taken into the next world. But what was over there?

"I've made up my mind." Mew nodded. Now, as I tell you this, it's been over a year since this happened. If I got the chance again, I'd still say, "I'll do it."

"Wonderful!" Mew exclaimed. "It really is wonderful. I mean, I think you'll enjoy it."

"When will it begin?"

"Well, right now!"

Instantly, relief washed over me. The choking feeling was gone, as were the bruises around my neck. Actually, all feeling in my neck was gone, along with all feeling in my body. I felt no pain. What I felt was beyond pleasure, it was the very feeling of life. The most beautiful feeling in the world.

I could no longer see Mew, or the next world. At first, all I could see was a blinding white light brighter then the sun. But then darkness, along with a new feeling of suspension.

I could feel my self-floating in something, maybe goo. Whatever it was, it was thick and comforting. I would never be cold here. I would always be safe. I was enclosed, moving my arm forward. I brushed against something. Arm, or foreleg?

"Co… …on!" A booming voice said. Although it was loud, I wasn't scared. If anything, I was encouraged. I pushed my other arm/foreleg against the edge.

"Com…on. Push!" Push, against what? The wall was solid. What was I supposed to do? I pushed hard against the wall, but I didn't feel any give. I had to stop, exhausted.

"Come on, you can do it!" The voice said. How did they know? Did they know what I was going through right now? Did they have any idea what I was going through? I just wanted to float here, to rest. It was so warm and comforting.

"Please, you're almost there. Just push, push!" I pressed my arms/forelegs again, but this time, there were cracks. I could feel cracks spread out under my hands/paws, and then light! Light poured through the cracks, filling in my chamber.

"Come on, almost there..." I wasn't getting far enough, so I pressed my head against the wall. Pushing with all my force, I burst through the shell wall.

I fell through the shell and landed on something soft. Blinking slowly, globs of goo fell off of my face and onto the ground. I couldn't stand. My legs didn't work. I was, however, able to see that I had landed on several towels.

Suddenly, someone pulled the rest of the egg I had been in off of me, and began to mop the fluid off of me with the towels. I was cold, so cold, and my caregiver wrapped me in towels, all but my head. Slowly, my face was brought up to his. Michael! He smiled at me and stroked the back of my head.

"Hello, little girl."


	2. No Life

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help**

**AN :** A warning in advance, for Angela, I chose the pokemon most often submitted (although number of submissions wasn't why I chose that one). I'll explain my reasons at the end of the chapter. I don't except flames (flaming makes you an idiot).

**II : No Life**

Living through your own death is the most disturbing experience ever. Being buried alive might be a close second, but being dead, and coming back into a new body, now that's a real bitch.

Let me first say, the transition from death to life, didn't affect my mind in any way. I was still the exact same Angela in mind, except now very grateful for life. But my body was now that of a small pokemon, and since I had just been born, it didn't quit work right.

Being born makes you feel sick. Lights glare to much, sounds are harsh on your, brand new, way to big ears. You can't move any of your limbs, because they're heavy and feel like their made of cement. Your tail hangs limp, and you wonder, what the hell am I ever going to do with this thing? Most of all though, your hungry and thirsty at the same time, and your jaw is to limp to do a thing.

Luckily, Michael knew to do something about this. As soon as he finished wiping all of the embryo goo off of me, I felt him moving me towards where I remembered his kitchen was. Michael's body vibrates with each step he takes. I had to clench my eyes shut, the light burned the very core of my brain.

We stop moving, and I hear the sound of a fridge door open. Cold air rushes across my exposed face and fur. "It's alright little girl" Michael whispers in a soothing voice, "I've got something for you".

Slowly, Michael fitted something like a rubber nub into my mouth. Acting on instinct, I sucked on it. Instantly, milk filled my mouth, and I hungrily gulped it down. _It's a baby bottle_ I thought to my self._ He's got me nursing on a baby bottle, and I can't stop either._

I don't know how long we stood there, me nursing, nestled in Michael's arms. Time has no meaning when you're a pokemon. It seemed like hours had passed, before he took away the bottle. "Feel better?"

"Vee" I said happily. As soon as the syllable was out of my mouth, my eyes bulged open. _Oh shit_

I had never thought about two things. What I was, or that I would no longer be able to talk. I had just assumed I would be able to speak, which in hindsight didn't make sense. I was a pokemon now, I had to talk like one as well. I could deal with the speech problem later, first I needed to figure out what I was.

My field of vision was obscured by a small black nose, on the end of a short brown muzzle. _Oh fuck, no_. I strained my eyes down, to see a ring of cream colored fur, around my neck. I was an Eevee.

Now, I reacted immediately, and while Michael heard me yell in pokespeek, what I was actually saying was "Mew, you fucking son of a bitch. I'm going to strangle you with your tail, the rip off your ears and wear them as jewelry"

"Is something the matter?" Michael asked.

"Yeah, something's the matter" I growled. Eevee are cute, but they're not much beyond that. Eevee's stats are very, very weak. Eevee doesn't have the worlds widest array of attacks. It is normal type, which is a good thing since it only has one weakness, but there are plenty of better normal type. It wasn't unique, aside from its evolutions and the fact it wasn't found in Hoenn. Until it evolved, it was extremely weak. I mean, Eevee's ability is Run Away, for crying out loud.

"You know something I just realized?" Michael asked. He walked out of the kitchen, his feet sending shockwaves through me. We came into his living room, I noticed it was almost Spartan clean. Their was a large, wooden, cushioned rocking chair facing the TV. Michael sat down, me on his lap, and began rocking back and forth. "I haven't given you a name yet"

"What do you mean a name?" Another thing I had to surrender, in my new life as a pokemon, I had to surrender my name. I would always be Angela Duncan to me, but to Michael, I would be Eevee, or what ever he chose as my name.

"I assume you don't just want to be called Eevee" I let out a noise of agreement. "So, what would be a good name? I need to think of the best one, one that will reflect the future we have. I've got big plans for us, we're going to be something, just you wait. We're going to leave in about a week or so. I've already got my pokedex, I've been registered. I'm going to ask Angela to come with us.

"Angela is this girl who lives next door. She's great, I love spending time with her. Ang would have left on her own journey years ago, but her s.o.b. parents used emotional blackmail to keep her around. I think she will jump at the chance" Michael got a dreamy look in his face.

"Angela is the kind of person you want on your side, when your in trouble. She can be as stubborn as stubborn gets, but she never gives up. If theirs a problem, she fights until she or they are dead" Michael paused. "Are those sirens?"

I could here sirens. On the other side of the room, through the window, we could see an ambulance pull by, lights flashing.

"Oh no, they found me" I cried. I had forgotten all about my suicide, I mean, how do you do that?

"Looks like they're stopping at Angela's house" Michael mumbled, walking over to the window. "One of her parents must have finally bit it, to many rusty nails. Lets go see, shall we?"

_

* * *

_

She never gives up

. The words rattled through my brain, as we stood in my front yard, watching the EMT's move a sheet covered stretcher away. I almost felt envious of my corpse. Michael had so much faith in me, he believed I never gave up. Look at what happened? I gave up, the biggest give up. I could do nothing to correct this, and this made me sad.

"What happened Angie?" Michael mumbled, subconsciously stroking my fur. He had become robotic, emotionless, and it hurt me.

"Michael?" He flipped around, nearly causing me to throw up. Michael's parents stood there, concerned looks on their faces.

"Mom, dad, what are you doing here?"

"Ms. Simms called us, said something had happened to Angela" Ms. Simms was my other neighbor. Her age was any where from 70 to 1000, and she was extremely lonely, so she constantly invited her self over. I'd bet my new tail Simms found my body.

"Oh God, they said" Michael swallowed, "They said Angela hung her self"

"Oh my God!"

"She's dead" Michael said, "She killed her self"

* * *

You can learn a lot about a person, from what they put on the walls of her room. My walls were covered with clippings, pictures from magazines, news stories, about famous trainers. Steven Stone, Wallace, Cynthia, Red, Lance, I had a ton of stuff.

My favorite trainer was one of the frontier brains, the one who ran the battle tower, Salon Maiden Anabel. She had become a frontier brain, and leader of the frontier brains, at age 15. I always thought that was amazing. Some one so young, was such an amazing trainer. She even captured Raikou, which I thought kicked ass.

Michael probably learned a lot about me, as he stared at the walls of my room for the first time. One of the cops had let him come up, since he was a friend. He had never been up here though, so their were several things about me he had never seen.

Michael had set me down on my computer desk. As soon as he did, I realized that even something as simple as sitting, was difficult when you had four legs for the first time. When I sat down, I had no idea what to do with my forelegs for a moment.

Now, I watched as Michael examined my room, the only testament I had left, to who I was when I was alive. Gingerly, he ran his hand along the wall beside my bed, over each of the clippings I had taped up. Michael shuttered, and sat down on my bed.

"She's gone" Michael whispered, "Angela's gone, and I'll never get her back" Suddenly, my computer beeped, reminding the world it was one. I did a mental head slap.

"I know how I can show you" I said, "The key board". Gulping, I attempted to stand up on all fours. Although wobbly, I was able to get my self up. But it didn't matter, I realized, I don't know how to walk!"

That wasn't the only problem. I could see the key board perfectly. Earlier, I would have been able to understand all the characters on it, now every thing on there might as well have been gibberish.

"Mew, that fucking bastard, he took away my ability to read and write" For some reason, this hit me especial hard. I sniffled, as two tears ran down my furry cheeks. Michael saw this, and came over and picked me up.

"Pokemon can sense the emotions of their trainers" Michael said, "You saw I was feeling said, and you felt the same way. Thank you"

Uh, sure, that's why. With out another word, the two of us walked out of my room, down the stairs, and out the front door. As we crossed the thresh hold, an old and erratically driven car pulled through the crowd of on lookers, and into the driveway. Two less then sober people jumped out of the car.

"Where's my daughter?" My mom cried. I cringed. Well, it was nice to know, I suppose, their daughters death had brought home the drunken Duncans. I felt nothing towards them, not anger, nor resentment, nothing. They mattered nothing to me. Michael how ever, did not share my apathy, as he rushed at them, seething.

"Hey!" Michael screamed, "Its good to know that Angela's suicide was big enough news for you two to miss happy hour"

"Do we know you?" My dad asked.

"Yeah, I'm the kid who lived next door to you morons for sixteen years. I'm the person your daughter talked to, when she wanted to unload about the shitty way you treated her. I know you told her, her birth was a mistake, you sick fucks"

"Michael, that's enough"

"Kid, you maybe Angela's friend" Dad said, fire burning in his eyes, "But I want you gone. I want you off of my property. We have to bury our daughter, we don't want you there when we do it"

"I'll be there" Michael said, "No one will stop me, definitely not a pair of lush's. If you try, I'll kill both off you where you stand. Don't believe me? Try me and see" Middle finger stiffly in the air, Michael carried me back to his house.

* * *

"I used to wonder, why do they keep bodies under sheets, as they cart them away" Michael whispered. It was night, and the two of us were sitting on his bed. "Its because, what we don't see gets us through the night. I'm going to sleep tonight, out of sheer exhaustion. If I had seen Angela, on that stretcher, I doubt I would ever sleep again"

I was sitting on Michael's lap. God, seeing my own body, and seeing Michael mouth off to the drunken Duncans, caused me to wonder about quite a few things.

During my human life, Michael would have been considered my best friend. Not because we were good friends, because he was the only friend I had. I treated him like shit. When ever we spoke, I used it as an attempt to unload. Michael never complained, he took it. He invited me over to his house, something I had never done. For the love of God, I never even knew what the pokemon egg he had was, and I hadn't asked. I just assumed Michael was to much of a pussy to say any thing, and that he didn't care about me. God, was I wrong.

"Angela" Michael began to cry, "Why did you do it? Why did you kill your self?" As he put his head down, and sobbed, I pulled my self up as best I could, and licked his face. Michael looked at me, smiling slowly.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you. You've been an angel" Michael whispered. "Angel. That's a good name, what do you think?"

Angel, well, it was close to my name. I let out a Vee of approval. Michael smiled, then went back to sobbing. I cause all of this pain, this hurt me more then the rope I killed my self with.

_Michael, you're beating your self up, because you think you lost me. I'm still here, and I'll show you_ I sighed, _I just don't know how._

**AN II : **Before every one groans that Eevee has been done a thousand times, I want to explain why. Eevee was the most often submitted pokemon, but I would have chose it if it had only been submitted once. I've read on about a thousand profiles, that any story with an Eevee is unoriginal, or the main character is a Mary Sue. While other people would have barely noticed this, I took it as a personal challenge. It's easy to an original story with a pokemon that never gets used, its hard to do an original one with a pokemon that gets used a thousand time. This is my challenge to my self, to make this story different from all the other Eevee story lemmings out there (Angela killed her self, so that eliminates all Mary Sue possibility I think). To make a story with such an over used character, interesting. Lets see if I can, shall we?

Also, I will use every submission I got in some kind of role (Even all eight of Eternal Storms). I especially liked Lighting Alchemist's two, I think you'll enjoy what I do with them.


	3. Funeral Sequence

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help**

**AN :** I'm changing this note, sense it was to urge you to review. You did though. You reviewed this story I hated writing, made it worth writing. You gave me 4655 reviews before FF pulled it down. For that, I will never be able to express my gratitude.

**III :** Funeral Sequence

Humans glorify death. They put so much ceremony, so much pomp, into the simple act of putting some one in a pine box, and dropping them down a hole. Pokemon don't have this problem. When a pokemon dies, the rest of their group, if they have a group, is sad for a day, then they move on. They don't spend thousands of dollars on copper boxes, and cement makers to remind you that you're dead.

As you might have guessed, I don't like funerals. I hated the way every one has to come out to be reminded, yes this person is dead. Funeral's aren't a chance to say good-bye. They're a chance to be miserable a second time, to stir up all of that pain and misery you thought you had dealt with. If that weren't enough, you have to pay for the misery.

The irony here is, as much as I hate funerals, I was attending my own funeral, some where other then the casket. I was sitting on Michael's lap in the front row, wearing a small black collar (I had to wear it, since I didn't have a pokeball). This event would give me nightmares; I still get them to this day.

It was an unusually crisp and cool day, especially for late May. The sky was cloudless, and the sun hung in a haze. All you could see were rows of granite tombstones which all looked the same. All that bullshit you get fed about originality, it doesn't matter. When you die, you end up a tomb stone in a sea of tombstones. But this wasn't what scared me. It was my body, lying in a casket.

My face was pale, the color of washed pearls, or a fresh coat of white paint. My hair was greasy and combed rigidly straight. My eyes were closed, and my face showed no emotion. People would have assumed this was how I looked when I was calm, except I'm calmest when I did simulation battles, when my adrenaline is pumping. When I looked like that, I was feeling sick or nervous.

My hands were folded across my chest; each nail had been manicured, like I needed to look nice before they dumped dirt on me. I was wearing a long sleeved, frilly white dress. There was a large collar on it, used to hide the rope makes I suppose. I was wearing the most horrible lipstick I had ever seen; it made my lips look like I just at a candy apple. For some reason, I had earrings on, which was odd, because my ears had never been pierced.

"She looks so life like" Some one behind me whispered. One thing of beauty, with new giant ears, is I can hear water dropping a mile away. It's also a curse, because you can hear way too much. Like your friends' parents making love.

"No I don't" I responded, although they didn't hear me. God, people are going to look at me, and make so many assumptions off of what they see. Now this is something important to remember. When you die, the only things people can learn about you are what they see and what they hear second hand.

If they wanted to see the real me, the mortician would have never dressed me like this. The dress would be gone first off, along with that entire gunk on my face. I would be dressed in my black T-shirt, which had the words BITE ME, written across the chest in rainbow letters. I'd be wearing my old jeans, that my parents hated, and that I kept for that very reason. I would never be wearing jewelry, not if some one held a gun to my head.

The number of people who had shown up for this thing amazed me. I didn't even know I knew this many people. The drunken Duncans were here, both of them swaying in circles slowly. They were dressed in all black; my mother wearing the black equivalency of the dress I was wearing. They both wore sunglasses, not to hide eyes red from tears. Rather, to hide eyes red from several nights of binge drinking. I had seen them a few times sense they found my body. The drunken Duncans had been drinking even more, if it were possible. I kept expecting them to keel over any moment.

Michael was holding him self rigidly straight, trying to show as little emotion as possible. He had spent the morning crying, the day before crying, and all five days before crying. When Michael wasn't crying, he had been with me, helping to teach me how to walk mostly. While other Eevee would have picked up on it in a few days, they had natural instinct. I did not.

I had finally gotten the hang of it, after five days. If any one thinks they can learn how to walk on four legs faster, well, you try it. I still couldn't eat solid foods, Michael had mentioned to his parents new born pokemon could battle before they could eat solids, which drives me crazy.

Since they discovered my body, Michael had been holding onto me like some kind of security blanket. Before I could walk, he carried me, constantly stroking my fur. He talked to me (Angel) about me (Angela). Even after I started walking, he had me with him constantly. I suspected the only reason he hadn't bought a pokeball for me, was because I would have been too far away from him. I was going to be unhappy for the rest of my life.

Which I deserved to be.

When you kill your self, you do it because you think your temporary problems will last forever. Well, your problems generally only last a few days, when new problems or new joys take their place. When you kill your self, you never get to see how it effects other people. Unless you attend your own funeral.

A bunch of people from my class at school came, even though I didn't even know whom half of them were. I obviously made enough of an impact on them, that they wanted to see me one last time, and I didn't know who they were. I feel like shit, because of what I did.

Finally, it came time for every one to go to the casket, and say their last good-byes. As Michael stood up, the drunken Duncans did as well. Oh boy, this would not be good.

"Hello Michael" My father said, a sneer on his face. I stood beside Michael, shaking my head.

"Mr. Drunken" Michael said. He turned to my mother, "Mrs. Drunken" I laughed, while they scowled.

"Listen, we thought you should have this," My mother said, pulling a thick, black, scrapbook out form under her arm. "We couldn't give it away, so we thought you might like it. Michael took it in his hands gently. On the cover were two strips of tape, with Trainer Info, written on them in black magic marker.

This was a scrapbook I had put together; full of information on famous trainers, such as their primary teams, battle strategies, and little notes I had on each. I devoted one section to gym leaders and frontier brains. That might actually be of some value later.

"Thanks, I guess" Michael mumbled, as he pressed the book to his chest. Moving past them, we came to my casket. Where I was standing, all I could see was a giant wooden wall, the side of my coffin. Michael was looking down on my body, his face etched in misery.

"I actually didn't believe it Angie" He whispered. "I couldn't believe you would do this to your self. But it did happen, oh God" Michael clenched his eyes, and my stomach plummeted.

I was angry. Not at my family, not at Michael, at me. How could I be such a fucking coward? How on earth could I be so fucking stupid? I was trapped in a twenty-pound body, and there was nothing I could do about it. Fuck.

Suddenly, I felt Michael's hands wrap around my side, and lift me off of the ground. He had placed the book at his ankles, and now he wanted me to say good-bye.

"Angel, I'm going to introduce you to some one special" Michael said, his voice waving as he spoke. "This is Angela. She was the most beautiful person I ever knew. I loved her" He sighed, "I wish she knew how I felt"

"Get that filthy creature away from my precious child" My mother, cried, as she ran over to Michael. She smacked his hands, and I fell on my ass. Fucking mother, precious daughter? She told me proof that I had disappointed her since before my birth, was that her birth control hadn't worked the day I was conceived.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Michael yelled, angrily.

"Get away from my daughters body" My father snarled. Michael scowled, then smirked. In one fluid motion, he gave my parents a one-finger salute, bent over, and kissed my dead lips.

As my parents stood there, mouths hanging open, Michael bent over and picked up the scrapbook, and the two of us took off, away from the coffin.

"That went better then I expected" Michael mumbled.

"How did you expect it to go"

"Michael!" A loud and chirpy voice exclaimed. Both Michael and I froze, and shuttered. Robin, it had to be Robin.

"Hello Robin" Michael said, as he turned around, trying to desperately to hide his grimace. Robin ran up to us, smiling happily, wearing a pants suit that was brighter then the sun.

"Michael, I never expected to see you here"

"You never expected to see me at the funeral of my best friend?"

"It's been a good funeral"

"A good funeral?" I cried, "What does that even mean?" Robin was one of those girls who would have many women punch her out. She was some one I would bet would deal with her emotional problems, through binge drinking and promiscuity.

Robin had a face full of freckles, a smile that could light up a room, even if you didn't want it to, and a small button nose. Her short, red hair, curled on the ends, and shined in the sunlight so bright, I could see my reflection in it from the ground. Robin's personality was some where between "quirky" and "needs medication". As soon as I spoke, in a chain of "Eevee vee eevee", Robin looked down.

"Oooooh, you got an Eevee" Robin cooed, picking me up. As I struggled against her bony fingers, so cold I could feel them through my fur, she pulled me really close to her face. "Oh, you are just so cute"

"Oh, you are so fucking stupid" I said in a mocking voice. One good thing when you speak like a pokemon. Robin smiled, and placed me back on the ground. I shook rapidly, to get her skin cells off of me.

"So, is she your first"

"Yeah, she's my starter" Michael said, in a choked voice. "We're leaving in a week"

"What a coincidence" Robin exclaimed, "I'm leaving in a week also" Michael and my jaws dropped.

"You, you're taking the league challenge?"

"I'm getting my pokedex and my starter next week" Robin said with a small giggle, "I'm going to get a Mudkip, because its cute"

Mental head slap. I hate it when people pick a starter, on the grounds that it's cute. To often, the most disturbing looking starter gets left out (Totadile, Treecko, and Turtwig I use as evidence). I mean, a few years ago, one girl was going to leave and wanted Mudkip or Torchic because they are adorable. When she found out all that was left was Treecko, she chose to wait another year to get a Torchic. Morons.

"Fascinating" Michael, said sarcastically. "Why do I need this information?"

"Because, I was thinking, if you wanted, we could travel together and"

"No!" I screamed, "No, no, no, no, no"

"Thank you for offering Robin" Michael said, smiling kindly, "But I'm going to have to decline. I need to do this alone, I can't be with other people" Robin's smile dropped.

"Are you sure?" Michael nodded. "Well, if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, I'm here for you"

"Dear God" I cried, "Are you hitting on him, at my funeral?!"

"Aw, you Eevee"

"Angel, her name is Angel"

"Angel likes me"

"No, I don't" I exclaimed.

"I'm sorry Robin, I can't. I've got to go" Robin nodded. The two of them hugged, and we finally reached my favorite part of the funeral. The part where we leave.

* * *

"Emerald" Michael read, "Best battler of Littleroot three, worst trainer" He was reading my notes on the three most famous trainers to ever come out of this town, Ruby the top coordinator in Hoenn, Sapphire the current champion, and Emerald who was, for lack of a better term, weird. We sat on Michael's bed, me sitting beside him.

"Angela kept typed notes, written theories, battle simulation records, and a list of strengths and weakness' for each trainer. Amazing" Michael murmured. "Angela wasn't the neatest person in the world Angel" I looked at Michael's disturbingly neat room.

"Better some mess, then obsessive" I said.

"That was one of the things I liked. To be honest, I like things clean. Never a problem when Angela was around, I thought the messiness was part of her charm. I look at this though, these notes are perfect. She even wrote out references and an index"

"I needed to find things" I said.

"Angela wrote out multiple pages on each of the gym leaders of the regions, and strategies for beating them. I, I think some of these could work"

"Michael, of course they would work" I said, "I thought them out" Michael shut the book, and tapped on its cover for a minute.

"This is all I have of Angela. I'm going to use these strategies to win" Michael put the book down, and turned to me. "I'm hungry, what about you? Let's get something to eat" I gave a "vee" of agreement, and the two of us headed out. Now, to get to Michael's kitchen, we have to walk by his parent's room. Although the door was close, we both stopped when we heard

"We can't let Michael leave" His mother whispered.

"You're so concerned, just because he's depressed?"

"Depressed, ha. He was obsessed with that Angela girl. Now she's killed her self. Michael needs therapy"

"My son isn't a nutcase, and doesn't need to be treated like one. I think going on his journey might be just the thing to help him"

"God, we're not going to let him go. Michael needs his family, not some creepy pokemon"

"I suppose you mean Angel?"

"Of course I mean Angel. Jesus Christ, Eevee are supposed to be friendly creatures. I pet that thing, it hiss' at me"

_All right, how about I go in there and rub your head like a magic lamp, sees how you like it_

"Well, what do we do with it?" _Her, I'm a her_

"I found a very nice man in Johto, who would be willing to take Angel. He runs an Eevee breeding farm, and he'll test her potential as a breeder"

"And if she has none?"

"Does it matter? Don't think about that filthy thing, Michael needs our help" At this, both of us stepped away from the door. Michael bent over, picked me up, and went back to his room. As soon as we got in, he set me on the bed, and pulled out his bag.

"Alright Angel, we have to leave, now" Michael muttered, as he pulled out his potions he had kept in his closet, waiting for when it was time to leave.

"But, it's eleven at night"

"I'm not going to let them take you Angel, I want you to know that" As soon as those words came out of Michael's mouth, I forgot every thing. "Yeah, I'm in pain, but I'm working through it. I can't talk to any one about it, that'll only hurt things, not help them" Michael zipped up his bag, as he pulled out his trainers outfit. "I have a cousin, of sorts, in Olade town. If we leave now, we can be there by four"

Michael tied an orange bandana, with a pokeball symbol on it, across his head. He turned to me. "How do I look?"

"Like a dork" I said, before laughing, "But it looks very cute on you, I love it"

"I'll assume that was a compliment" Michael said, smiling. He then turned serious. "Come on, we've got to go" Michael snapped open the top of his bag, and placed me inside. He locked his door, and opened the window. We climbed over the window seal, and into his yard. In a moment, we had vanished into the night.

This will be fun.

**AN : **You know the drill, R&R


	4. Night Waltz

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**IV : Night Waltz**

"_Why, why would somebody wipe their own shit on a wall?" – Sweet Dee_

There is something about the unknown. The unknown can be viewed one of two ways. As something to be afraid of, as something that can hurt us, or kill us. Most people take this view, and I think I understand why. People know the unknown can be something exciting, but people are afraid of getting hurt. These are people who live content, but unexciting lives.

I view the unknown the other way. There is a beauty in not knowing, leaving the mystery in life. I view the unknown as something mysterious, something enticing, something sexy. Their was danger in the unknown, and it was danger that made my blood pump. Since I loved the unknown, I also loved the night.

The night had always been magical, when I was human. I love staring up at the stars, shining lights against a black backdrop. The moon, giant, pale, mysterious. The night was inviting to me, because it shrouded me in darkness, it hid me from the world. The irony is that, when I killed my self, I was complaining about not being seen.

The night actually gave me my favorite type of pokemon, dark type. Dark type had always been an anomaly, even to scientists. When Umbreon was discovered, they couldn't figure out what the fuck to classify it as. Dark type are cool, due to how mysterious they are, and valuable due to the high accuracy of their moves, and their immunity to psychic type. Trust me when I say this, every one carries a psychic type.

Now, night had been special to me when I was human. What I didn't know was, almost all the big events of my new life would happen at night. Tonight, I would meat one human and one pokemon, who would change my life.

I still remember the night perfectly. The moon and stars were completely blocked out. The only lights came from street lamps, that me and Michael passed under, as we jogged through the town. When we entered Route 101, the lights vanished.

Now, what always sticks out to me about night, isn't the things you see, it's the sounds you hear. That night, I heard water dripping off of tree branches, from rain we had earlier in the day, after my funeral. I could hear Poochyena, or Zigzagoon stir and step on twigs, breaking them. Most of all though, I could hear Michael's heart race, through the back pack I was curled up in. He had stopped running, once we made sure no one was following us, but his heart was still racing.

Each night could be identified through its sounds. These random sounds were a melody, the night music. Night music is what I would listen to, to get me to sleep when I was young, after crying for hours because of the drunken Duncans. Night music is beautiful, music created with out rhythm or purpose.

"I wonder what their reaction will be" Michael said, as we trudged down 101. "When they discover my room empty, and my stuff missing. They'll probably send Robin after me, since she'll be leaving next week. My parents never liked Angela, but they liked Robin"

"How could they like her?" I murmured from Michael's back pack, "Her full name is Robin Dobin, no middle name"

"I mean, yeah, she's good looking" Michael grinned. "She has a body you want to eat off of"

"And a face you want to punch"

"But she has no personality. Robin has all the depth of a puddle of water. I mean, I never thought she would become a trainer. It's illogical if you think about it. Her interests I can count on one hand. Shopping" Michael said, holding up one finger, "Guy's, and thinking she's perfect."

My views on Robin were the same as my views on a zit. Grab it, squeeze it, and don't let go until it oozes pus. Robin had been a fungus when we were young. She was one of those annoying kids who you couldn't get rid of, no matter how hard you tried. Robin had tried to be friends with me, in spite of the fact I would rather be the guest of honor at a dinner run by cannibals then friends with her.

Then Robin turned 14. Up till this point, every one had made fun of the straw haired, stick figure girl. Then, she developed breasts, got treatments on her hair, and became adorable. While this did nothing for the girls who made fun of her, the guys started looking at her with a different head. Perverts. Yeah, I've met the enemy, and she is a bimbo.

Figuring I wouldn't be able to sleep, I pulled my self up onto Michael's left shoulder. He turned, noticing me, and stroked the fur on top of my head.

"I'm sorry Angel, did I wake you?"

"Vee"

"Sorry" Michael sighed. "I wish you could understand me. I'm sorry I woke you, but I need some one to talk to, who can't talk back. Really, I need some one to unload on"

"Michael, I wish you could understand me" I said. "When I was human, I thought you were a weenie, and a coward, who never did anything exciting. In the week since my suicide, you've flicked off the drunken Duncans twice, kissed my dead lips to disgust every one at the funeral, and ran away from home" I smirked. "Their may be hope for you yet" Michael smiled, even though he had no idea what I said, he knew it was happy. He checked his watch, two a.m.

As Michael did, the two of us emerged from the woods, and on the edge of Oldale town. Most of the houses and buildings were dark, the only light coming from the lamps lining the streets. The two of us walked through the quiet sound, no night music to be found here, until we came to a one story house with a detached garage.

The house was grimy, with something growing on the, once, white wash, walls. The yard was over run with weeds, and filled with beer cans and God knows what else. A rusted car sat on blocks, in front of the closed garage. This was the house of Michael's cousin, Louis. I had wondered what kind of person Louis was, and I think I knew.

Michael stepped through the yard, every time he stepped on grass you could hear the sound of broken glass. We made our was to a wooden front door, with red paint, peeling in long strips. He knocked on the door twice.

The door opened, to reveal a tall man, with long, greasy black hair, pulled back in a pony tail. In one hand he held a beer, in the other he held a roach clip. Oh boy.

"Michael?" The stoner asked.

"Louis, we need help"

"Sure, sure dude, come on in" Now, a little information on Louis.

As you might have guessed, Louis was a stoner. Louis was not a bad person, actually he was kind of fun, the way a Poochyena was fun. He lived a charmed life of sorts. Despite being a stoner, and working as an ice cream man, Louis never seemed to be out of money. Michael's family suspected that his money came from his father, Joseph "Buzzsaw" Adalian. Joseph, well, lets just say he lived in Lillycove and did a lot of work down by the docks.

Louis was Michael's cousin, through very obscure relations. Michael's parents hated Louis. Michael thought he was a hoot, but more importantly, despite being a stoner, Louis was some one you could turn to when you were in trouble. He wasn't a reliable stoner, none were, but he would help Michael. Now, Michael had run away from home, with no money and only minimal supplies, and we needed help.

Louis led us through his house, into his living room. I had climbed all the way onto Michael's left shoulder having dug my claws into his skin. Michael didn't complain though, as we sat down on a grungy couch in the room. The living room had orange shag carpeting, that let up a cloud of dust when ever you walked on it, and walls coated in what I prayed was snot, instead of something else beginning with an s.

Louise sat down beside us, and propped his feet up on a coffee table covered with beer bottles, and cigarette burns. He took a drag from the toke, and then smiled.

"Dude, like I said, we're in trouble" Louis nodded, looked at Michael then at me. A terrified look came over his face, as he pointed to me (who was now sitting in Michael's lap), and Michael.

"Shit man, you're not bangin' that, are you?" Michael and my jaws dropped.

"What?! No, of course not, that's sick"

"Good, with your piece man, you could rip that in two"

"She" Michael said, "Angel is a she" I felt oddly touched by him saying this. He already cared so much about me as a pokemon, that the idea of someone calling me an it, insulted him. I would have felt more touched, if I hadn't been sitting in a house that would one day be called the scene of the crime.

"I'm sorry dude, I mean she" Louise looked at me, and smiled, as he took a final drag, "So she must be your starter?" Before Michael, or I could protest, Louis picked me up. "Angel, you look like a killer"

"Your breath smells like you ate a shit sandwich" I said, nose twitching as he spoke.

"She'll be strong, you've got good taste" Louis said, setting me back down. "Now, you said you needed help?"

"I ran away from home"

"Dude, awesome" Louis cried, "High five"

"No, no high five. I had to move quickly, so all I got was a book from a friend, my pokedex, three potions, an antidote, and a map of Hoenn"

"Not a pokenav?"

"Pokenav's come with tracking chips, I don't want my parents finding me. They wanted to put me in therapy, and put Angel in breeding center"

"Alright, why would they want to put you in therapy?" Louis asked. "Come on dude, you can tell me" Michael nodded, then sniffled.

"Remember that girl I told you about one time, Angela Duncan?"

"Chubby girl you had a crush on, mouth that would make a twenty year navel veteran proud?"

"Chubby? Navel veteran? Fuck you up your stupid ass" I yelled.

"Angel's cute" Louis said, "It almost sounds like she knows what we're saying"

"Angela killed her self" Michael said. "I decided, I just couldn't be there any more, so near to where she died, living next door. I know, that if I'm ever going to get over her death, and move on, I need to do this journey"

As soon as Michael said those things, my heart dropped. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, at the end of the day, I'm still dead. But that doesn't mean it didn't hurt, and it also didn't mean I wasn't going to try and show Michael who I was.

I didn't want to listen to any more, so I decided to explore the grungy house. I climbed off of Michael's lap, he barely noticed, and walked out of the living room. I didn't like this place, and at the time I didn't like Louis. What I didn't know was Louis was going to play a huge part in the story unfolding before my eyes, just not as much as the next person I would meet tonight.

"Alright, what is their of interest in this shit hole?" I murmured, to awake to get to sleep. I came to an unlatched white door, and pushed it open by getting up on my hind legs (a trick in its own right). The door popped open, to reveal the most disgusting bathroom ever. I'm not going to describe how vile this room was, use your imagination. Still, I was curious, so I took one step forward.

"Hey" A new, female voice, called from behind, "What the hell are you doing here?"


	5. Losing My Mind

National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help

**V : Losing My Mind**

Now, I want every one to remember one thing, before I begin this chapter of my story. Enfer never knew my last name, I never told her. She never heard the name Duncan, and their was no way she could have heard it from Louis or Michael. Do you understand?

* * *

"Hey" A new, female voice, called from behind, "What the hell are you doing here?" When some one is confronted by an angry voice, from some one they don't know, their reaction is to be scared. Gulping, I turned around slowly, only to have all my fear wash away.

"What am I doing here? I could ask you the same thing" I said. The female voice came from a Growlithe, standing behind me, anger and determination on her face. I honestly thought she was cute. Except…

The moment my eyes locked with hers, I saw something else. An image, superimposed over her, running like a film strip. I saw the mouth of a woman, nothing above the mouth, no eyes or nose. I could also the throat and shoulders of a woman, she was dressed in a green something, wearing a pearl necklace (how I could tell it was a woman). The mouth was locked in a scream, and I wondered why. Suddenly, I saw why, as a black gloved hand appeared in my field of vision. It was holding a blade of some kind, that it used to stab the screaming woman in the neck repeatedly.

_What the fuck was that? Shake it off Angela, shake it off, don't loose it_. I shook my head, trying to clear my mind of what I saw, only to notice the Growlithe was talking like nothing happened. _I wonder if she saw… No, of course not. Don't start going crazy now._

"I live here" She said, "I've lived here for sixteen years. I doubt you've been hiding in the walls that long. Now, tell me who you are, unless you think you can take me on" I thought about it.

"You know, you're lucky Eevee can't do shit" I grumbled. "My name is…" You never think about it, but once you've been killed and re-born, and been given a second name, you don't know what name to go by. If you don't think about it before you get asked what your name is, it can really freeze you up.

"I'm Angela" I said, after a pause. Call me terrible, I prefer my old name. The Growlithe gave me an odd look.

"Did you say your name was Angela"

"Yes, yes I did" My mind was blank, because I couldn't get rid of what I saw. The Growlithe's nose was twitching.

"Your scent is one of a human" She said "Why is this?" _God damn Mew_, I thought to my self, _I knew you fucked up, when you made me an Eevee_. Yeesh, so on top of not giving me the instincts of a pokemon, taking away my ability to read and write, my body emitted the scent of a human. Mew, you fucking asshole.

Of all the senses I had change, when I changed into an Eevee, the biggest ones were that my eye sight had gotten significantly worse (I was almost completely night blind), and my sense of smell had increased ten time. My nose had become so sensitive, it was like I had been walking around with cotton balls in my nostrils as a human, and some one had pulled them out when I became an Eevee.

This presented a huge, huge problem. Pokemon primarily identified other pokemon, through scent. I didn't have a clue how to differentiate between scents, and every thing smelled the same to me, it smelled like burning. I had to re-learn how to breathe through my nose, if you take to deep a breath, it'll burn down to your sinuses.

"I don't have to tell you shit" I said, "Why don't you tell me some stuff, like, what's your name?"

"Enfer" The Growlithe said, "Louis is my trainer. Seeing as Michael is here, can I assume he is yours?"

"You know Michael?" Enfer nodded.

"Like I said, I've been with Louis for all sixteen of my years, Michael has visited from time to time"

"Enfer? Louis, whose brain probably looks a lot like a fried egg, named you Enfer?"

"I was born in a breeding center" Enfer said, "The people there named me" I nodded.

"Why do you live with Louis? The man is brain dead, he can't be a good master"

"Don't say that" She said sharply, "I've trained my self, all I needed from Louis was food and water, and he gave me that. More importantly, he gives me love, affection, and attention, three things both pokemon and humans need to live" These words struck a cord with me. Weren't these the things I thought I was with out when I killed my self?"

"Enough about me, lets talk about you" Enfer said, "Why do you have the scent of a human? I can't smell Eevee anywhere on you"

_Should I tell her?_ I thought, _What does it matter, it's not like she can tell any one else_. "Alright, if you want to know so badly, I used to be human"

"You did?" Enfer said, in a voice that implied she didn't believe me.

"Yes, I did. I used to be human, until I was killed, and re-born as a human" Enfer nodded.

"I don't believe you" I let out a cry of exhaustion.

"I don't care if you believe me. It's true, I was human. I'm to tired to argue though, I'm going to go back to Michael" I turned, and walked past Enfer, but what I didn't see next was shocking.

Enfer watched me leave, before she began to sob. Tears rolled down the sides of her muzzle, streaking her orange and cream colored fur.

"Angela, what did the Duncans do to you?" She asked, "What drove you to suicide?" I never said I killed my self.

* * *

When I returned to the living room, Michael and Louis were talking, but were now standing.

"I just don't understand Lou" Michael said, "Why would you want to come with us?" I brushed against Michael's leg, causing him to look down. "Hey Angel, where did you go off to?" He bent down, and picked me up, "Like I said, Lou, why would you want to come with us?"

"I need a change dude"

"A change? You have a house. Yeah, it's crappy, and it's the house you grew up in, but it's more then we have. You have a job, driving the ice cream truck" Louis laughed.

"Yeah, about that dude, I've got something to show you. Follow me" Louise lead Michael and me out the front door, and to the garage, in front of the rusting car on blocks. He pressed the button for the door, and the metal door rolled up, revealing an ice cream truck, parked there. Michael and me turned to Louis, our jaws on the ground.

"I'm sure there is a story behind this" I said.

"Dude, what happened?" Louis grinned sheepishly.

"I got fired"

"You got fired?!"

"I blame it on bad vibes from Mrs. McKenzie, she ran the thing. We got into a little fight, and she fired me"

"Why did she fire you?"

"Because I drove my truck into a swimming pool" I burst out laughing, as soon as he said this, while Michael just stared.

"You drove it into a swimming pool? Back up dude, start at the beginning"

"Well, I had been having a bad day" Lou said, "And beer always makes me feel better, so I brought a couple of six packs with me, when I started my route. Well, before you knew it, the beers were drank, and as I said, I can't be held responsible for what I do in my truck when I pass out drunk behind the wheel. Well, when I regained consciousness, I had driven through some ones back yard, and into their swimming pool. When I told Mrs. McKenzie I had been drunk, she fired me"

"So, you stole your truck?"

"Oh no, my truck was ruined. I stole a different truck, because she called me a '"Stone brained son of a bitch"' Michael grinned.

"Will she turn you into the police?"

"Not if she wants her husband to know that she and a few of the boys have been playing hide the ice-cream cone" We both laughed at this one.

"If you come, you'll pay for every thing?"

"Of course" Michael smiled.

"Then how can I say no to my favorite cousin?"

* * *

A little while later, I was laying on Michael's stomach, as he lay on a cot in one of Louis's guest rooms. After Michael pushed all the beer, cigarettes, and porn off the bed, it was still a disgusting mess.

"Tomorrow, we head to Petalburg, it's a days walk" Michael said. "One thing I never understood, was why the gym leader there, is the fifth one you have to battle"

"Because they were on pot when they designed this gym system" I mumbled. Michael stroked behind my giant ears, and I moaned. Laugh if you want, it's an amazing feeling, that you can't describe until you feel it.

"From there, we head to Rustburo, which is easily another two days walk" Michael smiled. "We'll have to do a lot of training, battle ever trainer we come across, and we'll need to capture another pokemon. But once we get to Rustburo, you'll get your first gym battle, with Roxanne" My eyes bulged. I had never thought about it, but I was a pokemon, and as such, I was expected to battle. Oh fuck.

"But enough about that, come on, lets get a few hours sleep" Michael mumbled, as he closed his eyes. I lay on my back (I couldn't roll into a ball, my tail went into my nose, and made me sneeze), and quickly fell asleep. With the dream I was about to have, I was going to wish I hadn't.


	6. Who's That Woman?

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help**

**VI : Who's That Woman?**

"With out a dream, you'll not get anywhere" – Kofi Annan

What's the deal with dreams? People have been asking that question for years, why do people have dreams. Are they fantasy, or are they another reality? If we die in a dream, do we die for real? How do we know they are dreams, what if they are reality, and what we perceive as reality is us asleep?

For me, dreams had always been a source of comfort, a sort of medication for the trouble I had gone through earlier in the day. In my dreams, I was the worlds greatest trainer. When the drunken Duncans had used emotional blackmail, to keep me from being a trainer, I folded like a house of cards. In my dreams, I told them to fuck off, went out and got my shiny Treecko and my Pokedex, and went on to defeat Sapphire and become the champion of Hoenn.

Of course, if I ever were to battle any of the trio, I'd get my ass kicked, I'll admit it (I kind of have to be humble, after the whole suicide thing). But that's what's nice about dreams, it can happen even if it can't happen. I wanted to spend all of my life asleep. As I tell you this story, I no longer want to, because I have someone who gives me a reason to stay awake. But that's getting ahead of the story…

Now, you need to know the big, big difference between the dreams of a human, and the dreams of a pokemon, they're not even close to the same. Humans think to much, and their dreams follow suit. A humans dream is generally a fantasy, set in the real world, where a person can do extraordinary things. Its full of images, and details, and other people.

Pokemon's dream, have none of those things. Pokemon do not see images, their dreams have no story in them. Pokemon see beauty with out form, in their dreams they feel emotion without meaning. No dreams are so beautiful, and they had been the best aspect of my change into a Eevee.

Tonight was different. I don't even know if I would consider it a dream, or some kind of vision. Just, I want every one to know this. When you die, and come back, you rarely come back alone. Sometimes, something comes back with you, visions of things you don't understand, connections with people who wish to harm you. Sometimes other things come back…

Now, I'm going to describe the dream as best I can. It didn't seem like a dream, more like some out-of-body experience, like I was looking at a movie rather then having a dream.

The first thing I saw was a woman. Not just any woman, she was wearing a silk floral print dress, full makeup, a pearl necklace and earrings. Also, she was pregnant, very pregnant. She was shopping in an outdoor market, the smell of the ocean and the breeze told me it was Slateport. When I saw her, I knew every thing about her.

Her name was Anna Kendle. She was married, to a man who spent every moment that he could, making her life miserable, inflicting as much abuse as he could on her. But his abuse didn't leave a bruise on her fair skin. No, his abuse was worse, it was emotional and mental. He called Anna a whore, a slut, worthless unless she opened her legs. He told her that she kept the house filthy, and he refused to let her get a job. The biggest thing of all, he made Anna always wear a dress, jewelry and full makeup, so even her body was a sign he belonged to her.

When I saw her, at first I felt mad. She let her self be abused, every nasty comment, every little jab at her self esteem, she just took it? Anna had once been a strong, confident woman, why the fuck would she allow her self to be abused? She had a baby coming, for Christ sake!

_How would you know what she's going through Angela, the only person who knows is her_

I know if I were abused, I wouldn't sit and take it.

_But you did Angela. Your abuse was neglect, by two drunks whose attention you desperately wanted. You didn't fight back._

Now I didn't feel mad, just depressed. Ugh, my conscious is a bitch. I watch Anna, as she navigated through the maze of people, tents and tables. I watch until she come to a wooden table, under a large white and blue stripped tent. An old crone, probably alive when Arceus was born, sat behind the table. On it, were a series of porcelain pokemon figurines.

Anna looked at the statues, until she came to a Growlithe statue. It was sitting on its hind legs, with one paw in the air. It looked like it could come to life at any moment, I thought it was cute. Gingerly, Anna lifted the figure up, and turned it over in her hands. She set it back down, and turned to the sales woman.

"H-how much?"

"That depends" The crone said, smiling a wicked smile. God, she had no teeth, and her mouth was a gaping black hole. "How much you got?"

Anna reached into her purse. Her husband gave her an allowance to spend on her self, all in cash. She pulled all of it out, both bills, and placed them on the table. The woman looked at them, and laughed. "Sorry sugar, not enough" Anna made a gasping noise.

"B-but, but please, I need it. I had a little figurine like this, when I was a little girl" It made her happy, it reminded her of a happier time. Slowly, Anna pulled out a credit card, the one her husband gave her for errands only. "Do you except credit cards?"

* * *

"You're my favorite" Anna whispered, as she set the Growlithe statue on the wooden entertainment center, which set beside the TV. Each of the shelves on the entertainment center were lined with little figurines. When her husband was in a good mood, he would buy her one. When he decided she had been disobedient, he smashed one of them under his foot.

Speaking of the devil, it was at this moment he decided to come home. When I saw this man, unlike Anna, I knew nothing about him. He was average height, average weight, with sandy hair and girlishly long eyelashes. I didn't know his name, or his story. I knew he was married to Anna, by the band on his finger. I assumed that he was a lawyer, because he wore a suit, carried a briefcase, and was a shit stain on the roadmap of life.

"Hello Marcus" Anna said, smiling, "I-I thought you would never get here" Marcus set down the brief case.

"I noticed dinner hasn't been prepared" He said, "I thought we had a discussion about this. I want you to prove you do have some value"

"Y-yes sir, I'm sorry" He nodded. "I-I'll get to work"

"See that you do" Anna nodded hopelessly, and walked out of the living room. I followed her, into their kitchen, from which I could still see the living room. Anna didn't go to the fridge, rather, she went over to a knife block, and toyed with the largest knife. I could see Marcus, and he had picked up the Growlithe figurine. "What is this?"

"Oh that?" Anna asked, turning to see Marcus. "Oh, I bought th-that tod-d-day"

"Your allowance covered this?" Marcus asked, his voice filled with suspicion.

"W-well, actually no" Anna gulped. "I used the credit card. Before you get mad, it was only a little more then my allowance, and it reminded of me of my childhood. It made me so happy, I assumed you woul-" Marcus pushed the figurine onto the floor, and crushed it under his foot.

"You disobeyed me woman" Marcus said, "This is for your own good" He knocked off another figure, and smashed it. Anna collapsed to her knees. She didn't cry, she didn't really move.

"I-I can't do this any more"

"What did you say woman?" Marcus asked. He dropped an Eevee figure, and prepared to smash it.

"!!!!!!" Anna screamed, as she leapt onto her husband. In her left hand, was the knife from the kitchen, which she plunged repeatedly into his stomach.

"Fuuuuuuucccckkkk!" I screamed.

"Angel, calm down"

"Veeeeeeee" I stopped screaming, and panted slowly. It took me a moment to remember where I was. I was on Michael's lap, wide awake. He was sitting up right, and holding my quivering body to his chest, slowly stroking my fur. Sunlight was streaming into the room, and I realized the dream had actually lasted all night.

"Angel, what has you so freaked out?" Michael asked, as I shook. "You're safe, stop shaking. I'll protect you, I'll never let anything happen to you" I looked up at him, my brown eyes tearing, and I actually believed him.

When a pokemon is born, they are connected with the first person they see. It is an unbreakable emotional bond, you wish that they would be loyal to you, and you are loyal to death to them. When I was human, Michael was just the dork who lived next door, who I had secretly suspected of being gay. But now, he was so much more. Caretaker, protector, in several ways he was my parent. And, in the greatest twist of cosmic irony, he was in love with me, he just didn't know it.

"Come on, lets go see what Louis is doing" Michael picked me up, holding me close to his chest. The sound of his heart calmed me. We walked into the living room, where Louis and Enfer were seated on the couch, watching the morning show _Get The Fuck Up Hoenn!_ Louis was staring at the anchor woman, obviously turned on by how much he was drooling. He was holding an open beer in his left hand. Enfer sat beside him, and looked up when we came in.

"Hello Louis" Michael said, as he sat down next to Enfer.

"Yo yo man" Louis said, as he took a slug of beer. A small insect landed on his face, and he didn't move.

"Is he generally like this?" I asked Enfer.

"He only usually gets this bad when he's recently drunken wood varnish" Enfer noticed I was still shaking slightly. "Is something the matter?"

"I-I had a nightmare" I swallowed. "What do you care?"

"Hey, don't think that, I do care" Enfer said sympathetically. "Since you and I are going to be traveling together, I do care"

"Wont you be in a pokeball?"

"Funny thing about that" Enfer said, "Louis never bought a pokeball for me, because he got lonely. Michael, he's got the emotional stability of a detoxing heroine addict. You and me will be spending a lot more time together"

_Oh boy_

* * *

An hour later, Louis, Enfer and I waited outside the pokemart, as Michael emerged, six pokeballs around his waist. He had a sad expression on his face.

"Dude, what's the matter?"

"I dunno, I almost feel like I'm running away from my problems" He shrugged, "And from Angela" At this, Louis let out a moan. The four of us began to walk away from the mart, me walking beside Michael, and Enfer beside Louis.

"Dude," Louis said, putting one arm across Michael's shoulders. "I'm going to tell you something my father told me"

"Nothing dissolves a body better then lye?" I asked.

"The best way to get over someone, is to get under some one" Louis said, "Lets get you a hooker"

"NO!" Michael, me, and even Enfer all said. "I don't want a hooker"

"Come on, there are plenty in Petalburg, unless, are you worried I won't pay for it, 'cause I promise I will"

"I don't want a hooker" Michael said stubbornly.

"Come on, you need to loose your virginity before you turn eighteen!"

"NO!" Louis sighed, and gave up. The four of us came to the edge of Route 102. I looked at Michael, who looked like he was ready to take on any challenge. I looked at Louis, who wore a shirt that said "You can't make a woman out of a whore". I then looked at Enfer. The woman I had seen in my dreams, was it the woman I saw when I first met Enfer? If so, what did it mean. Well, I'll have plenty of time to figure it out.

I hope.


	7. Voulez Vous

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**VII : Voulez-Vous**

Route 102 is the area between Oldale town, and Petalburg City. On it, you will find the worst trainers in the Hoenn league, ever. I mean, these guys are so pathetic, you know what they battle with? Wurmple! Who the fuck battles with Wurmple?

Yeesh, morons. But, these morons are every where. They fall into the trainer class of Bug Catcher. There are approximately five strong bug catchers in Hoenn, and about a hundred weak ones. The weak ones hang out around 102 and Petalburg forest, on the grounds that they believe they can beat new trainers, and win some money. These guys couldn't beat an egg.

My views on bug type are simple. There are five bug type that can be used, and the rest should be avoided at all cost. I mean, fire is to these guys what grass is to water, there is no type combination that makes bug time resistant to fire, and a few that make them double weak!

Anyways, the only five I believe should be used are the following. Ninjask, because it is the fastest non-legendary in existence, and speed can do so much for you. Shedinja, and if I have to explain why, then you are a moron. Scyther, because it has good speed, and attack(Its speed is higher then its evolved form, how fucked up is that?). Heracross, which had me salivating when I first heard of megahorn. And Pincer, for similar reasons to Scyther.

As you might have guessed, I'm ranting about bug type, because this part of the story is about, among other things, my first battle! Ugh, it's ironic, isn't it? I believe the universe works on a system of irony, and it's ironic that the would be trainer wanted to go on her journey so badly, she actually became one of the weakest pokemon ever, to do it!

* * *

Michael, Louis, Enfer and I were walking down route 102, on this beautiful day. The sun was shining, but it was hot and muggy. It was one of those days that look beautiful on paper, but if you go out side, it's hotter then hell.

Louis had on his head, and to this day I don't know where it came from, one of those hats that can hold cans. He had two beer cans, and was using the straw in the hat to drink from both of them. Michael was flipping through my book, and me and Enfer were walking in silence.

"Listen to this" Michael said, "according to Hoenn league rules, and this is true with all regions, if a trainer locks eyes with you, and requests a battle, you must except. If you do not, it is ground for expulsion from the league"

"Dude, that fucking sucks"

"Actually, Angela recommends that I take any battle I see" Enfer looked at me.

"Alright, assuming you are Angela" Enfer said, "Why would you recommend that?"

"Simple" I said, "You need your pokemon to level up fast, and evenly. The more battles you take, the more experience you get" It was only a moment later, when that rule took affect.

Suddenly, some one walked out of the woods, and in front of us. The moron was wearing blue shorts, a tank top, and a very wide yellow hat. He was holding a net on a long stick. Around his waist was a single pokeball. Bug catcher.

"Are you a trainer?" The bug catcher asked.

"Well-

"Hey retard" Louis butted in, " What the fuck does it look like, of course he's a trainer. He has a pokedex and Eevee you moron" Thank you Louis.

"I challenge you to a battle" The bug catcher cried. Moron. Michael though, had no choice but to except. "Choose your pokemon" Seriously, who talks like that? Michael looked down at me, a sad look on his face.

"Alright Angel, you're up" Angel? Did he mean me? I gulped, and walked in front of Michael. The bug catcher laughed, and pulled out his pokedex (they really will give those to any one, wont they?). He pointed it at me, and the little device chirped, "Eevee, level 5, attacks known, Tackle, Growl, and Helping Hand"

Okay, I only know three attacks. That's embarrassing. If that weren't bad enough, one of them is helping hand! Helping hand might be the most pointless move ever, some where on par with defog. It only works in double battles, and people don't join a league to do double battles.

"Wow, it can do that?" Michael said, puling his pokedex out quickly. He pointed it at Enfer. "Growlithe, level 98". As it chirped out attacks, all of our mouths fell open, including Louis', which had a mouth full of beer. He dropped to his knees, and looked at Enfer.

"Are you really that strong?" Enfer shrugged. Louis laughed, and hugged her, "Man, you're fucking awesome" It's moments like this that make me ask, am I really traveling with these people?

The bug catcher stopped staring at Enfer, and turned to us. "Alright, let me bring out my champion" He pulled out the one pokeball, and released a Wurmple.

"Whaz happening?" The Wurmple groaned, like it had been awakened for the first time in days. A quick scan, revealed it to be at the same level as me, with the moves tackle, poison sting, and string shot.

"Alright, I'll get it started" The bug catcher said, "Wurmple, string shot" The Wurmple opened its mouth, which kind of looked like an ass (I'm sorry, but it's true), and a long shot of sticky webbing fired out. I jumped backwards with ease, and avoided it.

"Alright, Angel, growl" Now, any one who has never been a pokemon, will never understand what it's like to use an attack. All of my muscles seized up instantly, and my body felt like some one else was using me like a puppet. From deep inside of me, I let out as fierce a growl an Eevee can. It ended up sounding adorable, and in the time it took me to growl, Wurmple fired a second string shot around my four ankles. I took one step, and fell flat on my face.

"Tackle" Michael and the bug moron yelled.

"I'm trying" I yelled back, as I squirmed to get the string off. I did, flipped back up, only to have the small bug ram into me. The tackle did nothing, but make me angry.

I wasn't going to get beaten by this stupid bug, I had decided that early on. I refused to get hurt by something this stupid, and embarrass Michael. Growling, I took off running at the Wurmple, and rammed into it with my fourteen pound body. Even though this wasn't much, it was more then double Wurmple, who was thrown off the ground, and hit the bug catcher in the chest, knocking it out.

"Level up" Michael's pokedex chirped, "Level six achieved" Michael laughed. "I-I won! You loose" Michael laughed again, and picked me up, and kissed me all over my muzzle.

We ended up battling another bug catcher, before we hit Petalburg. Michael's pokedex happily chirped that I had reached level 7. Wow, I so do not care that I reached level seven, and I wanted to break that condescending little piece of trash.

"I'm proud of you" Enfer said, walking beside me. All of my muscles were sore, from my ears to my tail, and I would have loved a full body massage.

"Why?"

"You won two battles today! You've never battled before" I shrugged, as best an Eevee can.

"I beat a bunch of Wurmple" I said.

"Yeah, but like I said, it was your first battle. Feel good, celebrate! Lord knows Michal did" I smiled.

"Yeah, he did" I nuzzled Michael's ankle. He looked down, and smiled, and then bent down and picked me up. He began to stroke me behind the ears, and sighed.

"I love you Angel" Michael said. I let out a happy Vee. "Before you ask Louis, not that way" Louis nodded. "I honestly don't know how I would have survived this last week without you. I wish I knew how to say thanks"

"You don't have to say anything" I muttered. In Michael's arms, my muscle pain melted away. I felt right in his arms, all the pain I had had in my human life would have vanished. I wished I could stay this way forever, an Eevee in his arms. Well, I wasn't completely wrong.

The four of us finally emerged from the forest, and through the gate for Petalburg. This was big for us, it meant our journey really had begun. The sun had begun to go down, and I could already hear the night music beginning. A melody of car alarms, people talking, traffic snarls, and a basketball bouncing somewhere.

"I guess we should find the pokemon center" Michael said, "Since it's getting late"

"Eeeeeehhhhhh, WRONG" Louis yelled. "No fucking way am I staying in a pokemon center. I've got a lot of money, I'll spring for a hotel room"

"Where do you get your money?" Michael asked.

"It's better that you don't know" Enfer said, although Michael didn't understand her.

"Well we still need to get to the pokemon center, for Angel" Michael said. Now, in Petalburg, there are three pokemon centers. One near the front gate, one near the exit gate, and one in the dead center of the city.

We came to the big building quickly. As usual, it was over flowing with people, trainers needing to rest their pokemon after a battle with Norman, people looking for a room for the night, the occasional thief attempting to steal pokeballs. I don't like pokemon centers for all these reasons, but I do like one aspect of them.

Now, when we entered the huge lobby, it was filled with a crowd of people, each trying to get to the phones, PC, or nurse station. The Ever Grande Conference was in six months, so every trainer was out. The scary thing was, in three months it would be twice as bad. Trainers are weird.

"Alright, I'm going to go wait in line at the nursing station" Michael said, "Why don't you two go get us a hotel room?" Louis nodded, and he and Enfer turned to leave.

"Why can't you and me have a relationship like that?" Louis asked Enfer.

"What we have works" Enfer said, as the walked out the door. Michael and I walked to the nursing line, when we noticed some one at one of the PC's.

"Oh crap, is that Robin?" Michael asked. Almost magically, she heard her name, turned and saw us, and got all excited.

"Shit" I moaned, "Do you think it's to late to say we don't see her?"

"Michael, over here!" It's to late. Michael sighed, still holding me, walked over to see Robin. How she got here before us was a mystery, along with why she was here. Robin was wearing a pants suit made out of some shiny gold material. She had a small bag slung over her shoulder, and two pokeballs around her waist.

"Hey Robin" Michael said, a false smile on his face.

"Oh, I remember youuuu" Robin cooed, as she began to pet my face. "Do you remember your aunt Robin, Angel?"

"I think so" I said, "Aren't you the girl, whose nickname was, one size fits all?" Sometimes, speaking like an Eevee is a fucking pain in the ass, and other times it's fantastic.

"I think she is soooo cute"

"Robin, what are you doing here?" Michael asked. She smiled.

"I left almost immediately after the funeral" Robin explained, "I was given permission to leave early, after I was told Professor Birch only had one starter left"

"So, you ended up here?" She nodded, then clapped her hands excitedly.

"Wait, Michael, I have to show you this" Robin unhooked one of the pokeballs, "I already caught my first pokemon!" A red beam fired out of the ball, which took the shape of a small, white creature, with a green helmet and red horns.

"Ralts" It said weakly.

A Ralts? Robin is a fucking moron, who I'm amazed found her way to Petalburg, in spite of the fact route 102 is a straight line. Robin would get lost on a straight line, and she caught a Ralts? Ralts are rare, powerful, and can evolve into two very nice final forms.

"A Ralts? That's nice" Michael said, with just the slightest whiff of envy. Robin smiled and recalled it. "I suppose you used your Mudkip to catch it? I want to see that"

"Uh, yeah, no I'm not going to call my starter out"

"Come on Robin I want to see it" Robin scowled, and unfixed the other pokeball. Now, remember when I said the universe works on a system of irony? Robin opened the ball.

"Treecko" The small lizard exclaimed proudly, upon being released. I held on for one moment, before bursting out laughing. Robin despised Treecko, stating they were creepy, and grass type "sucked majorly".

Now, I adore Treecko, because its final form has a speed stat that makes my mouth water. I also love grass type, it's my favorite behind dark and steel type. I like it, because it is the only type that works against every water type, which means it works against 19% of all pokemon, since water type is the largest. But, Robin was a girl who picked out pokemon who looked cute, do you think she could see any of this?

I felt sorry for the small gecko, because if I were it, I would rather be abandoned then have Robin as my trainer. I might not be wrong about the abandon thing. Robin was about to use the PC, which tells me one thing. She had a Ralts, so she would just stick Treecko in a box, and leave it there forever. Piece of shit.

"You've got a Treecko?"

"The other two were taken" Robin growled, recalling it, "And I just wanted a starter" Beautiful. "One of the lines has emptied, why don't you take it" She was a lot less talkative now.

"Alright, we'll see you around" Michael said. "I hope we get the chance to battle some time"

"Me two" With out another word, me and Michael left. Now, as soon as we were far enough away, Robin's cell phone she had in her bag rang. It had rung earlier that day, in the morning. "Hello"

"Robin" Michael's mom said, "I'm sorry we had to call you"

"It's no problem Mrs. Luccelli"

"Have you seen Michael? Please tell us, so we can come and get him, he needs help" Robin looked over, at Michael and me.

"Nope, I haven't seen them Mrs. Luccelli" Robin said, before disconnecting. She sighed, and loaded Treecko's ball into the PC. "If you love some one, you never turn them in"

Michael gave me over to the nurse at the station. In a second, I was hooked up to a machine that heals pokemon. Oh God, I love this machine. Psychedelic waves rolled over me, as all my muscles went limp. It felt like I was floating on air. No drug is like this. But, as soon as it started, it was over, and I was in Michael's arms.

"Come on, lets find Louis" Michael said, as we walked out the front door. The air washed over me, and I snuggled into Michael's arms, and quickly fell asleep. And to my happiness, no nightmare, just wonderful dreams.


	8. Silly People

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**VIII : Silly People**

I slept easily in the bed me and Michael shared. The hotel room was nice, and it seemed to nice for some one like Louis, who I've suspected deals drugs(I have no proof though). We set out almost immediately, still tired, but with memories of Robin's Ralts fresh in my mind. I needed (and when I say I, I mean us. At the time, as much as I cared about Michael, I cared more about beating Robin, or beating her head in) to capture a pokemon, just to shove it in Robins face.

The sun seemed higher then it usually did, and the day was already unseasonably hot. Michael was sweating through his bandana, and Louis was sweating like a yak, but none of them could compare to me. If I lived in snowy Sinnoh, I would adore having a fur coat, but I don't. I live in border lining on tropical Hoenn, which was about to start a heat wave.

"I'm dying here" I moaned, my tongue hanging out, as I walked beside Enfer.

"Really, I'm fine" Growlithe have heat proof fur coats, so she wouldn't feel a thing. I swear, if I had hands, I would have strangled her. I would have gone to jail for the rest of my life.

And it would have been worth it.

"Alright" Michael said, "We need to capture another pokemon, before we enter Petalburg forest. Now, the first gym leader uses Rock type pokemon, so we need a water, grass, fighting, ground, or steel type. We can cross steel, grass, and fighting off, and I think we can cross off ground as well"

Water type are the most common type, you can barely go any where and not find one. They are the most common weakness of rock, and fire types. My views on water type are that, if a water type isn't your starter, it needs to be the first thing you catch. They only have two weaknesses, and if you put a water type out to fight an electric or grass type, you deserve to loose. Also, since they can learn ice type moves, and take down the type that is the biggest pain in the ass, it's like having an ice type who is resistant to fire.

"Alright, where do we find a water type?" Louis asked, as we walked through knee high grass that set on the edge of the sandy beach.

"I dunno, it's not like Pokemon just jump out" Michael said, "I thi-" He was cut off suddenly. I looked where Michael was staring.

Sometimes, I believe God likes to mess with you. Or maybe it's the legendaries, I dunno. The fact I'm wearing a fur coat in a heat wave is proof (I know Mew picked out Eevee for just such a purpose, I know it). But, for all those times they screw with you, I believe they like to make it up to you. I could see a large tree, as could Michael, Louis, and Enfer. Sitting under that tree, was Gods little gift to us.

Sitting under the tree, was a Mudkip. As soon as I saw it, my mouth began to salivate. Now, although I would have chosen Treecko as my started, I would love to have one of each of them. I like Mudkip, although I do have a problem with the speed and defense of its evolved forms. Mudkip and its group as the highest defense of the Hoenn starters, and even its defense is described as below average(All starters in this region are cursed with bad defense).

Now, my way to combat Mudkips groups terrible speed and poor defense would be to give it a quick claw. I would still be worried, what if an electric attack got off first, or after it evolved, what if a grass attack got off first? What if I used an ice type attack, and it missed? Ice types aren't known for accuracy.

Now, my little rant makes two assumptions. One, Michael would catch this Mudkip. Two, the Mudkip would want to evolve.

Well, I was half right.

"That's a Mudkip" Louis said. As soon as he said it, all attention shifted off of the sleeping Mudkip, and onto Louis.

"Louis, don't do something stupid" Enfer said. But he heard nothing.

"Hey Mudkip dude, wake up" Louis yelled. We all let out a cry of exasperation, as the small mud fish opened its eyes.

"Kip!" It exclaimed happily. It looked at me, and at Enfer, then back at me. It winked, and then happily ran off into the tall grass.

"Louis, I'm going to kill you" Michael growled, as he pulled out a bunch of pokeballs, and handed them to Louis.

"Hey man, what are you given these to me for?"

"You lost the Mudkip, you'll help me find it. Use Enfer, don't knock it out, come on Angel" The two of us took off, leaving a snickering Enfer, and a very confused Louis.

After ten minutes of fruitless searching, Michael decided the Mudkip must have gone down to the beach. We came to the edge of the field, Michael ran onto the beach, and I stayed behind, looking at the grass and shaking. Michael took a second, to notice I wasn't there.

"Angel? Come on" Michael turned to me, his look of frustration changing to concern, when he saw me shaking, "Angel, what's the matter?"

"I think she's scared of the beach, dude" Louis called. Michael nodded.

"Angel, I've got to go look, I'll be back in a second, alright" He turned and ran down the sand.

"Why do you not like the beach?" A new voice asked. I let out a yelp, and a small jump. Turning around, there was the Mudkip from earlier. He was completely normal looking, except for a small, nasty looking scar on his tail fin, that gave it a forked look. He let out a small giggle.

"I'm not going to tell you" I cried, "I challenge you to a battle"

"No" The Mudkip said, "I'm not going to do that" He turned around, and watched Louis crawl along the ground, Enfer following behind him. Louis farted, and Enfer couldn't help it, she fired a small ember as he did. The ember caused it to ignite, and set the bottom of his pants on fire. Louis let out a screamed, and rolled around on the ground, until he put his ass out.

"Alright, that was fucking funny" I said.

"What are they doing?"

"They're looking for you"

"Why?"

"They want to capture you" The Mudkip nodded, and turned back to me.

"Alright, I'll go with you guys" My mouth dropped.

"Really?"

"Not quite" Of course not. Nothing is ever free. "I'll come with you, if you can do one thing"

"What's that?" The Mudkip smiled, walked up to me, and pressed his nose against mine.

"Tag, you're it" Oh God, you've got to be kidding. This is so fucking stupid. I jumped at him, attempting to pin him, but he hit me with a water gun, and I fell on my back. I was actually happy for the cooling.

"Why are you doing this to me" I asked pulling my self up. The Mudkip took off running, and I followed close behind. Suddenly, he turned and fired a water gun, which I easily avoided. We both stopped, and faced each other. "I mean, why are we playing tag?"

"I'm trying to make you happy, I think you're sad"

"What would I have to be sad about?"

"You're a human recently reborn as a pokemon, that's why you're sad" My mouth dropped, and dropped so wide, the Mudkip fired a water gun, hitting me in the mouth.

I choked and coughed, as water dripped out of my mouth, and onto the bone dry ground below. I locked eyes with the Mudkip, anger seething from my face, and glee radiating from his.

"Why did you do that?"

"I didn't think you would ever close your mouth, and you were starting to attract flies" He responded.

"How do you know that I'm a reborn human?" He laughed.

"I can only recognize recently reborn humans" The Mudkip said, "Because they don't act like pokemon"

"We don't?"

"No. I've been traveling for fifteen years, and I notice things, and I've met people who are reborn humans. All the actual Eevees I've met are happy, and cheerful, and optimistic. You're cynical, pessimistic, and a little sad"

"Sad?! I'm not sad" I sighed. "What ever. Tell me, can you tell if any one was originally human?" I turned my gaze to Enfer. "I mean any one"

"No, as a matter of fact, I can't" He said. "Over enough time, a reborn human can become completely pokemon. Also, you have the scent of a human, something else that wears off"

"Good to know" Alright, he seemed calm, so I jumped. He was ready, so he also jumped back, and shot a water gun right at the dirt an inch in front of me. "I don't understand.

"But you will" Mudkip said, before turning tail and running. I took one step charging forward, and my forepaw hit where he had fired the water gun. The dry dirt turned into thick mud, which I got my paw stuck in. The mud acted like a bear trap, holding my leg firm, only releasing it when it caused me to flip onto my back.

"Alright, I think I understand now" Mudkip walked over to me, and brought is face close to mine, until we were almost touching.

"Angel, where are you?" Michael called.

"Whose that?"

"That would be Michael" I said, "He's my friend whose in love with me, but doesn't know it. He wants to catch you" He nodded.

"Well, he's never going to"

"Why would you say that?"

"Because you'll never get the chance to tag me"

"Wrong, I win" With out another word, I stuck, and caught him on the end of his nose. "You're it"

"You got me" He laughed, as I flipped over, and stood back up. "Congratulations"

"Angel, there you are" Michael said, running up. "I was worr-" He stopped, when he saw the Mudkip. Slowly, he pulled out a pokeball.

"What's he doing?"

"Michael thinks he sneaked up on you" I said, "And he's going to capture you"

"Should I turn around?"

"Eh, don't shatter the illusion" Michael tossed the pokeball, "Tell me, what's your name?"

"Does it matter?" He asked, as he was sucked inside the pokeball. I suppose not. The pokeball fell to the ground, shook three times, and clicked shut. Michael bent down, and picked up the pokeball, cupping it in his hands.

"Oh my God, I caught something" Michael looked at me, "Angel, I caught something" He turned to Louis and Enfer, who were looking near the entrance to Petalburg forest. "Guys, I caught something!"

"Really?" Louis asked, "Fuckin' A" Michael laughed, and released the Mudkip in front of him. He got down on his knees.

"Hey little guy" Michael said, stroking the Mudkip alone the side of the fin on his head.

"I like you, you're nice" Mudkip said, happily.

"You need a name" Michael murmured. "Angel, what do you think is a good name"

"Pain in the ass"

"Thanks Angel" Michael said, "But I don't think Vee will work" Stupid pokespeech. "Alright, what a good name?" He turned his head. "You're a hyperactive little fellow" Mudkip nodded. "Fast, you seem fast" Michael smiled. "I like the name Rush, what about you?"

Rush let out a Kip of approval. Michael stood up, as Louis and Enfer came back over. "Guy's meet Rush"

"Hey Rush" Louis and Enfer said in unison. "Alright dude" Louis said, what now"

"Now, we get started again" Michael said, "To Rustboro" He looked at Rush's pokeball, then at him and me. "I think I'll leave you out Rush, give you and Angel a chance to bond"

"WHAT?!" I cried. "Don't leave me out with this moron!" We began to walk towards the forest, and Rush clung to me.

"Come on, let's talk" He chirped happily, "Like, why do you not like the beach?"

"I'd rather not say" I muttered.

"Okay, then lets sing a song"

"NO" I screamed.

"What do you want to sing?"

"Nothing!" I cried, "Enfer? Where are you"

"Sorry Angel" Enfer called from behind Michael and Louis, "You're supposed to bond"

"Alright" Rush said, "I'll pick the song"

"PLEASE GOD KILL ME" I screamed, "I WANT TO DIE, I JUST WANT TO DIE"

"Merrily we roll along"

"Aaaaauuuuugggghhhh"


	9. Into The Woods

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**IX : Into The Woods**

Petalburg forest is so thick, it blots out the sun, and they had to use saws to cut an entrance into it. It is filled with plenty of pokemon who will level up fast, evolve quickly, and have stats so low, a high wind will defeat them. Also, it is filled with bug catchers and youngsters, both of which suck ass. In fact, we were right in the middle of seeing how much a youngster sucks, as I rammed my body into his Zigzagoon.

"Ziggy!" The little boy cried, as his small pokemon fell over, and I thought, _who names their pokemon Ziggy?_

"Level up" Michael's pokedex chirped, "Level 11 achieved" Yeesh. I never realized just how many people hang out in these seventh circle woods. When Michael used his pokedex on Rush, Rush was at level nine, which made no sense to me, since Rush claims to be 25, and to have been traveling for 15 years!

First, I had to be leveled up to match Rush. Then, Michael rotated between us. Rush learned water gun, I learned tail whip. Which one of us got the better deal?

"Wow, that's your sixth win of the day" Rush chirped happily, "Are you happy?"

"No, I'm not" I groaned. "I only know one attack, tackle" Rush had sung an amazing array of songs, including the entire musical score of HMS Pinafore! Now, he was trying to make me happy, to psyche me up I guess. But I didn't want to be psyched up. Also, I had some great feeling of dread.

"You're anxious" Rush said.

"No, I'm not"

"Sure you are" Rush continued, "You're nervous about your first gym battle"

"Why would I be?"

"Because" Rush said, "You obviously care about Michael, and you are terrified of letting him down"

"Is that true?" Enfer asked, walking up beside us.

"I don't know" I said. "It's just, Michael is getting over my human death, and"

"And you worry he will get over you?" Rush asked. I shrugged.

"That's stupid" Enfer said. "That's something Robin would do. Michael isn't Robin"

"Whose Robin?" Rush asked.

"An airhead I've never personally met" Enfer said, "But from what I understand, catches pokemon depending on how cute they are"

"Then she would love me" Rush said.

"She wanted a Mudkip" I said, "And frankly, I would love to run into Robin, just so she could get a chance to meet you" Then I would laugh, and laugh, and maybe piss on her pants suit, just because I think it would be fun.

"All three of them are bonding" Louis said to Michael, "That's fucking awesome"

"They need to bond" Michael said, "Angel needs pokemon friends" He sighed. "I've been so clingy, ever since"

"Don't mention the suicide dude" Louis said, as he reached into his back pocket, and pulled out a joint. He lit up and took a deep drag. "I'm really knowledgeable about these things. You need to take those feelings you have, squish them into a little ball, and not bother me with them"

"That's not healthy" Michael watched Louis flip the joint around in his hand, and stick it back in his mouth, lit side first. "Neither is that"

"Fuck it" Louis said, flipping the joint again.

Rush and Enfer had both stopped talking, and I was enjoying the silence, until I hear "Why are you afraid of the beach?" I turn to Rush, and groan.

"You're afraid of the beach?" Enfer asked.

"I thought I didn't have to say"

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad"

"Alright, how about you tell me why you didn't battle in the fifteen years you've spent traveling?"

"I don't battle" Rush said, his usual giddiness wavering, "Because the last time I battled, I got this" He gestured to his forked tail.

"Did it hurt?" I asked.

"Eh, not that much" Rush's left eye twitched slightly.

"Okay" I sighed, and looked at Enfer, then back at Rush. "Do you guys really want to know what happened at the beach?"

"Of course" Rush said.

"If you want to"

"Actually, it does help to unload" I said. I felt one tear slip out of my eyes, as I remembered that day. "It was the day I discovered my parents don't love me"

* * *

It was unusually sunny, I remember that. We were also going through a heat wave then, but it was a lot easier for me, since I didn't have the fur coat when I was eight. Michael would move in next door in a month, so I had no friends. It was a Saturday, or maybe Sunday, it doesn't matter.

I just wanted to watch TV that day. Sapphire was being given the title of Champion of Hoenn, and I wanted to watch it. I was sitting in front of the TV, when my mom came in, and greeted me in her normal, cheerful manner.

"Get your ass up, you little slut" Those are the moments that warm my heart, when I feel lonely.

"Can't you see I'm busy" I said. Her breath smelled like rusty nails. She had probably been drinking all day, and it was eleven in the morning. Ah, the joys of childhood.

"Get your fucking ass up, we're going to the beach"

"I hate the beach" I sad, eyes locked on the TV. My mom came over, and grabbed me by the back of the neck, and wrenched me up.

"I don't give a fuck, you're shit sack father is in the car, let's move" I should have asked a few questions. Like why my parents, who both had hangovers, wanted to go out side. Why I didn't have a bathing suite on. Or why we were going to the beach, when I couldn't swim.

We drove to the beach outside of Petalburg, arriving in a few hours. Their was no one there, they were all at home, watching TV. Lucky bastards.

They took me, and by took I mean drug me to a small pier on the edge of the beach, where their was a boat rental. They had reserved a boat, which we all got onto. They then took it about twenty feet out, away from the shore line.

"I don't understand" I said.

"Alright Angela" My mother said, "Lets be honest. You're worthless" Thanks Mom. "And I find it fucking ridiculous that at your age, you can't swim.

"I don't like water very much"

"Does it look like I give a shit?" Mother dearest asked. "Look, it's fucking embarrassing that you can't swim, what will are friends think?"

"You have friends?" My mother smacked me. I felt blood in the corner of my mouth. "Why would you be talking to them about the fact I can't swim?"

"Does it matter?" She asked. "You no how we can solve this problem?'

"How?"

"By forcing you to learn" With that, my mother pushed me over the edge of the boat. I crashed into the water with a sick THWAK.

As the water rushed over me, my clothing turned to iron, and my limbs turned to cement. I wasn't sinking, I was able to pull my self up long enough, to get my head above the water. I gasped in panic breaths, salt water and tears stinging my eyes.

My mother looked at me over the edge of the boat. Her expression was chiseled in stone, and her eyes were like steel. Her mouth was pulled into a small slash of anger, like she was mad at me for not drowning.

"Alright" She said, "This is how it will work. You've got two hours to get back to shore, or we leave you here"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I screamed, "I'm your daughter"

"You're no child of mine, you little cunt" My mother said. "Your birth was a disgrace, but I can't get rid of you, you fucking curse. Two hours" Then they pulled the boat away.

* * *

Enfer and Rush looked at me, with looks of horror, as I began to cry harder. "I was able to get back to shore, God knows how, by kicking randomly and being pushed in by the waves"

"Didn't any one come to help you? Did any one hear you scream?"

"No one was there" I said, "Every one stayed inside that day" I sobbed again. Enfer and Rush both nuzzled against me. "Anyways, I ended up scared not of the beach, but of water. I mean, not water pokemon like you Rush, bodies of water, like oceans, or lakes, or ponds. I still can't swim, and I never want to, the thought of going back into the ocean" I let out a shutter.

"I'm so sorry" Enfer said. "I wish I could have helped you, maybe ripped out their throats"

"Thank you" I said. "But their was nothing you could have done. The drunken Duncans were determined to ruin my life, I bet even death wouldn't have stopped him"

"Hey Angel" Rush said, pulling back away. "Thank you"

"Thank you, for what?"

"Angel, you no why I'm alone?" I shook my head. "Enfer, what about you?"

"No idea" Rush let out a weak laugh.

"You see this scar" He said, gesturing to the one on his tail fin. "This is the last thing I got from my group, after my accident"

"I thought you said you got it from your last fight"

"I lied" Rush admitted. "Its something I don't like to talk about" He gulped. "You see, my accident was my fault, and it ended in something bad"

"What was so bad?" Rush shook his head.

"I can't talk about it" He sighed. "Anyways, I was kicked out of my group, and have been living alone ever since. The not battling thing, that's just because I don't want to evolve"

"You don't want to evolve?!" I cried, "I thought all pokemon wanted to!"

"I don't" Enfer said.

"Getting back to me" Rush butted in, "I wanted to thank you Angel"

"Why on Gods green earth would you want to do that?"

"I always try to be happy" He said. "Smile, try to make the best of a bad situation, even if their isn't a best. Well, that wears on you, to the point where you don't feel happy any more" Rush locked eyes with me. "Then you came along, and you make me feel better, then I have in so long. Thank you Angel"

I was honestly touched, "I-I don't know what to say Rush"

"Don't say anything Angel. Just, you're such a great friend"

"Woah" I protested, "Let's stop there. Since when are we friends"

"Of course we are" Rush said, "I'm your friend, and Enfer is to, right?"

"Right"

"Do I have any say in this?!" I protested.

"No" They said in unison. Ugh, mental head slap. I had never wanted friends as a human, on the simple ground I found people annoying, and stupid. Now I had two, along with a boy who was in love with me, and didn't know it. Soon, we would be out of this stupid forest, and be in Rustboro, where I would have my first gym battle, as a pokemon.

"Fuckin' A" I smiled at my two comrades, and even laughed when Rush gave me a small lick across the nose. But, I was still some what unhappy. The story had brought up unhappy memories. I wanted the drunken Duncans dead.

If I had told Michael the beach story, when I was still alive, he would have done something. He would have taken a kitchen knife, and cut out both their throats. He would have gone to jail for the rest of his life, and he would have smiled when I came in and confessed my love every day.

The funny thing was, I wasn't wrong. Like a guided missile, a killer was headed to the drunken Duncans house right now. What he would do, who he was, I didn't know.


	10. Welcome To Kanagawa

National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help X : Welcome To Kanagawa

Two day. It took two days to get to Rustboro. When we got out of the forest, it was already dark. We had gotten lost in Petalburg woods, because, according to Louis, the exit was next to a big tree. Well, there are a lot of big trees!

So, we ended up camping out near the entrance to the forest. The problem was, we still had a five mile walk, and we slept until 11:00 am. When we woke up, it was a mild 102 degrees, the scary thing is, it was down from yesterday. Now, Rush and Enfer were perfectly fine in the heat. I, on the other hand, wasn't doing so well.

"I'm going to fucking die" I moaned, wishing desperately to shave all of the fur off of my body.

"Really, you're hot?" Rush asked, "I'm fine"

"You're a water type!"

"Uh, you're right" He laughed. "I bet you wish you were a water type right now" Actually, I still wished I had a razor, just to cut something else.

"What are you thinking about?" Rush asked. I mentally aimed a 45. Caliber, nickel plated revolver at Rush, and blew his brains out through a hole in the center of his head. I then pumped five rounds into his lifeless body. I then did river stomp around his body.

"Boats, I was thinking about boats"

"Don't kill him" Enfer whispered to me, "We need him"

"If you say so" I said. But I no longer felt angry at Rush. In fact, I didn't even feel hot, because I could see something over the horizon.

"Hey dude" Louis said.

"Yeah, that's Rustboro" Michael laughed. He turned to Louis. "We made it here, in spite of you"

"What did I do?"

"We lost you yesterday, because you passed out behind a tree"

"Uh, no" Louis said, "I just got lost behind the tree, and couldn't find my way out, because I was high!" Worst argument ever.

"What ever" Michael said, "You did get us a hotel room, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Retard! You were supposed to reserve one at any hotel in Rustboro, before we left Petalburg!" Louis though about it.

"I forgot" Sigh.

Rustboro is the second largest city in Hoenn, beaten only by psychotically large Lillycove. The city is famous for having the headquarters of the Devone Corporation, a company that makes, well, something. All I know is the son of the man running the company is a great trainer.

Rustboro more importantly has the first gym trainers in Hoenn have to visit. Run by an ex-student of the trainers school, Roxanne. The gym uses rock types, and isn't known for being the most difficult of gyms. In fact, trainers who loose at Rustboro, who didn't pick Torchick as their starter, are known for being ridiculed.

The sun was setting, as we walked through the city, down the side walks that had been paved with yellow bricks for some odd reason. The red sun dyed them orange, and cast long shadows for the three of us.

"So, why are we here?" Rush asked.

"This is where our first gym battle is"

"What's a gym battle?" Ugh, mental head slap.

"How do you not know what a gym battle is?" Enfer asked. Rush shrugged.

"I never spent much time with humans, or pokemon trained by them. I'm a bit in the dark about this"

"Yet, you know I'm a reborn human?" I asked.

"Yep, it's one of lives little mysteries"

"Alright" Michael said, "Me, Angel, and Rush will go to the gym. You and Enfer can go get us a hotel room"

"Dude, the gym wont even be open" Louis protested, "And why do I have to get the hotel room?"

"I know the gym isn't open, it's Sunday" Michael growled, "I want to find out when it opens tomorrow. As for getting the hotel room, its because you have the money, you dropped the ball in Petalburg, and you have been drinking since you woke up, although how you got beer is beyond me"

"It really is a magic trick" Louis said. "Alright, but here, take this" He pulled a cellphone out of his pocket, and handed it to Michael. "Keep it on dude. Come on Enfer, let's roll"

"See you later" Enfer said, as she and Louis walked off. Me, Michael, and Rush walked through the throngs of people, until we came to a stone colored building, with a sign in front that said GYM, and gave a short description of Roxanne. We had departed from the others twenty-five minutes ago.

"It opens at eight tomorrow" Michael said, "So, I think we should show up around" He was cut off abruptly, by the phone ringing. "Hold on, hello?"

"Michael, you've got to help me" Louis cried.

"Louis, what is"

"I'm in jail!" Rush and I looked at each other, before I burst out laughing. Michael had closed his eyes, and was trying to count to five, with out smashing the phone.

"We left you only a few minutes ago, how did you end up in jail?"

"Well, I was able to find a hotel fast"

"This is our room?" Louis cried, as he and Enfer stepped into the dingy room. "This place is a shit hole. I rented one for Michael, Christ knows what his will look like"

The room was brown, every thing was brown. The carpet, the walls, the curtains in front of the windows, the sheets on the only bed, and the tile in the bathroom. Enfer thought it might have been the ugliest room she had ever been in, and it smelled like a crack whore.

"Ugh, lets see what works" Louis flipped the light switch. The light exploded in a series of sparks, which sizzled out before hitting the ground.

"Wow Louis' Enfer said, "You really are a moron, to rent a room this terrible" She ran over, and hopped on the bed.

"I've got to take a piss" Louis muttered. Enfer sighed, and lay down on the grungy bed, giving her a perfect view of a TV with a hole in it, looking like some one smashed the screen in. "Fuck, the shitters broken" Louis screamed. He ran back into the living room, pants around his ankles, giving Enfer an image that would haunt her for the rest of her life. "Man, I've really got to piss, where can I" Louis looked at the window.

"Don't do it" Enfer said, but it was to late. Louis threw the curtain open, and pushed the window up. Then…

"Aaauuuuhhh, that's good" Louis moaned.

"That's what you get when you spend all day drinking, with out eating anything" Enfer sighed. Louis looked down.

"Oh fuck"

"This should be good" Enfer laughed, as she ran over beside Louis, stuck her head out the window, and looked down. Louis had pissed six stories down, and hit a police car, with a uniformed officer getting out.

"You peed on a cop car?" Michael cried.

"I pissed out a window, and hit a cop car, which I could not see, because I was drunk!. They won't let me out, unless some one signs me out, you've got to help me, I'm in a holding cell with a guy named Stabby Joe" Michael nodded.

"Where are you?" Louis gave them the adress "Alright, now, put Stabby Joe on the line"

"Why?"

"I'm going to give him permission to go to town on you"

"MICHAEL!"

"Alright, we'll be there in a few minutes" He hung up the phone, then looked down at Rush and me.

"Well Angel, Rush, we've got to go get my idiot cousin out of jail"

Rush and me had to wait outside the building, since pokemon weren't allowed inside. I just wanted to sit there silently. Rush wanted to play.

"Let's play tag again"

"Why the hell would we want to do that?"

"Because" Rush said hyperactively, "You're still depressed. I want to cheer you up!"

"I don't want to be cheered up" I said.

"Oooohhhh, come on"

"No" I stood up, "I'm going for a walk, I'll be back in a few minutes, don't follow me"

I walked aimlessly, until I was standing in an alleyway, between two buildings. I wasn't sure how I ended up there, but I walked until I came to a dead end.

"You know, you are depressed.

"Rush!" I exclaimed, jumping around, "I thought I!" But Rush wasn't there. Rather, a Meowth was there, staring at me with detached curiosity. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"I know you"

"I seriously doubt that" I laughed.

"Your name is Angela Marie Duncan" The Meowth said, causing my jaw to drop. "You committed suicide two weeks ago, by hanging your self. You were raised by Alistar and Sylvia Duncan, who you nicknamed the drunken Duncans. You're friends are Rush the Mudkip, and Enfer the Growlithe. You're in love with Michael Luccelli, who is in love with you, but thinks you're dead. You think you're enemy is a Miss Robin Dobin, but your real enemy is a man named Jerry Tagger"

"I" I had no idea what to say, my mind was blank. "I don't know any Jerry Tagger"

"But you will" The Meowth said. "Now, do I have to tell you when you had for first period, or do you believe I know you?"

"I believe!" I cried. "Who, what are you?" To this, the Meowth just smiled. "Do you work for Mew?"

"We have an agreement worked out, but no. We do work together, but my powers far surpass his"

"Are you Arceus?"

"Stronger then that" Okay, now I was scared. "I'm here, because I've taken pity on you Angel"

"Why?"

"No matter how hard you try, you can't fully deny you're depressed" The Meowth said. "So, I'm here to give you good news"

"Oh really? I don't believe you"

"Well, I talked with Mew, and although it isn't much, I have something that will make you feel better" The Meowth locked eyes with me. "If Michael can discover who you are, with out any one telling him, I will make it, so he can understand you"

"My God" I said. "So, so I will?"

"Be able to talk to Michael like you were speaking English" The Meowth said. "You two can never have a physical relationship, the parts don't match. But, you can have an emotional one"

"I don't know what to say" I cried, tears falling down the sides of my muzzle. "How can I say anything"

"Angel? Angel, wakeup" I opened my eyes, as the dream shattered, only to discover I had never left the police station, but had fallen asleep, a miracle considering I was with Rush.

I was in Michael's arms, Rush to, but he was asleep. Walking beside us was Louis, a large bandage on his arm, from where Stabby Joe attacked him I guess. As I nuzzled into Michael's arms, I thought about the gym battle I would be in tomorrow. But more so, I thought about the dream. Was it just a dream? Was it real? I looked up at Michael. Well, once you figure out it's me, we'll find out.


	11. It Takes Two

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XI : It Takes Two**

If you send an Eevee in to do battle with a rock type anything, you will most definitely face certain death. I of course, believed if you sent Eevee in to battle an actual rock, Eevee would loose, so maybe I'm not the best opinion out there. I'm also probably not the best representation of my new species, but I don't care, I hate Eevee.

Now, I had created strategies for each starter, for when they battled Roxanne. Torchic would have the worst time, since it is both weak to rock type, and doesn't learn any particularly decent fire type moves this early on. The best strategy is to either catch a water type, or to train Torchic until it evolves into Cumbusken and learns double kick.

Treecko has the type advantage with Roxanne, but it doesn't really have a decent grass type attack. The only grass type move it can learn this early is absorb, which barely does any damage. It can use quick attack, which doesn't do shit, and pound, which also doesn't do shit. Evolving doesn't bring any decent grass type moves for awhile. Catch a water type, and just avoid all the head ache.

Mudkip is the best starter to use in this situation. It learns water gun early, which is quadruple effective against Geodude, which all rock type leaders seem to have a boner for using. Although Roxanne also uses Nosepass, which can learn the pitiful move thundershock, and the irritating thunderwave, Mudkip can move much faster then Nosepass, so it should be able to take down the small Easter island head.

As I finish my little rant, let me just ask you one thing. Where in my grand strategy, did I ever include using an Eevee?! God, I hate being small and cute.

* * *

The morning of our first gym battle, I awoke like I always did, on Michaels' chest, as he stroked the back of my neck. Rush was curled up in a all beside me, fast asleep. Michael was staring at the ceiling, probably wondering what his strategy should be.

"Roxanne isn't hard" Michael said to him self, "So why do I feel nervous?" I sighed, stood up, and walked down his chest. I gave him a quick lick on the nose, and he laughed. "Hey Angel, I didn't know you were awake. How do you feel this morning"

"Confident" I said. Michael laughed.

"That's good" He sighed, "I wish I were as excited at you" Slowly, Michael scooped me and Rush up, got off of the bed, and walked over to the window. Yeesh, what a hotel, what a night we had. When we got to the room, we found six condoms in bed. Rather then sleeping under the covers, Michael bought six newspapers, and spread them out across the bed, and slept on them. Then, at two am, we heard knocking at the door. When Michael answered the door, a man asked if Desiree was ready. Michael said Desiree wasn't here, so the man looked Michael up and down, and asked what his rates were. Michael then kicked the man in the knee, and closed the door.

What a shit hole.

Michael carried both of us over to the window. The sun was rising over all of the buildings, and I had to squint. "It's a beautiful day" Michael sighed, as he looked down to the bottom of the hotel. "There is a bum, beating off in front of the hotel. I wonder if it's a sign"

"I think it's a sign the police will be here in a few minutes" I mumbled. Rush opened his eyes slowly, and jumped up.

"Hey Angel" Rush chirped happily, "How are you?"

"I feel like I just spent the night in a brothel" I said, "Oh wait, I did!"

"Oh come on Angela" Rush whined, "You're being negative"

"I'm a brown puff ball" I said, "Whose going to go get smashed by a giant rock later today. What's to be happy about?" Actually, I was very happy, but I don't need Rush knowing that.

The dream I had yesterday was rattling around in my brain. How do I get Michael to see who I am? Now, Michael did have strong belief in the supernatural, so it wasn't like I was starting from scratch. The problem was, this would be hard to believe if God him self told Michael. Even if I did get him to see, what would be his reaction? I put him through the wringer, yeesh.

Suddenly, Rush shot a stream of water, that hit me on the forehead. "Augh, dude, what the hell?!"

"You zoned out" Rush said, "I was worried" Michael turned away from the window, and sat us on the ground. I could hear police sirens as he did.

"Alright guys" Michael said, as we left the room, "Let's go see Louis" We walked across the hall, and Michael knocked on Louis's door. "Dude, it's Michael, let's go"

"Hold on a second" Louis moaned. He was breathing heavily, and I could hear _Get The Fuck Up Hoenn!_, playing on the TV he took from our room. In fact, I could hear the female anchor woman talking.

"Gross Lou" I muttered. Suddenly, I heard Enfer, scratching franticly at the door.

"Angel, Rush, are you there? You've got to help me out"

"Why, is Lou, uh, beating off?"

"I wish" Enfer cried, "You don't want to know what he's doing, please help me"

"Hey Mike, can you bring me a bottle of olive oil, and a coffee filter?"

"Coffee filter? No, get your ass out here" Louis sighed, and we could hear him click off the TV. He opened the door, Enfer rushed out, and pressed her shaking body against mine.

"You don't want to see what I saw" Enfer whispered.

* * *

We ended up arriving at the gym an hour before it opened. Michael paused in front of the door a moment, almost in awe. I was in awe my self, my (er, our) journey had begun, and more importantly, Rush had been recalled into his pokeball until the match ended. The blue menace was gone, fucking A.

"Alright, let's kick some ass" Michael said, pulling open the glass door. In the lobby, their were two hall ways, one marked SPECTATORS, and one marked CHALLENGERS.

"We'll see you on the other side dude" Louis said, as he and Enfer took off down the spectators hall. Michael watched them go off, then looked down at me, smiling. With out a word, the two of us went down the challengers hall. We walked, until we came to a door marked Battle Area, with a man standing in front of it.

"Are you a challenger?" Michael nodded, "Well, Ms. Roxanne is currently battling, but I she is nearing the end. You can watch from the visitor side" The man opened the door, and Michael and me walked in side.

"You battled hard" Roxanne said, "It gives me much pride to give you this Stone badge"

"The guy was right: Michael said, "We did enter on the end of the battle, I wonder who was battle" Michael stopped dead, as he and me saw who it was. Roxanne stood in front of the challengers mat, handing a Stone badge to Robin.

"Sure" I muttered, "Why not" Robin excepted the badge, and turned and saw us.

"Hey, Michael!" Robin cried happily. Today, she was wearing a midnight blue pants suit, with shiny gold stars going up and down the legs.

"Hey Robin" Michael said, putting on a shit eating face. "He he he, how did she beat me here?" He whispered to himself.

"Isn't it obvious?!" I cried, "She pulled the broomstick out of her butt, and flew here!"

"Um, are you my next challenger?" A very confused Roxanne asked.

"Yes, I'm Michael Luccelli" Robin came over, and grabbed him in a hug.

"Michael, I haven't seen you since Petalburg" She crouched down, "I know Angel remembers her aunt Robin"

"I remember in school" I said sweetly, "Your nickname was bicycle, because every body went for a ride"

"You're so cute" Robin said, standing up again. "So Michael, have you caught any thing else"

"Actually" Michael grabbed Rush's pokeball, "I have"

"So have I!!!!" Robin exclaimed, as she tossed one of the only two pokeballs attached to her belt, "I caught this little guy when I went swimming, and I figured he would make a good friend for Ra-Ra (Who names their Ralts "Ra-Ra?"). Come on out Ba-Ba"

"Bagon!" The little blue dragon exclaimed, throwing its small arms in the air. I nodded, to be honest, I wasn't that surprised. Robin was one of those people, who the sun shined out her ass when she bent over.

"Y-you caught a Bagon" Michael said.

"He's soooooo cute! Does it shock you?"

"Robin, if you caught Zapdos, it wouldn't shock me" Robin went into this battle with a Ralts and a Bagon. We're going in with a Mudkip, and an Eevee. Life really fucked me.

"Well, it was really nice seeing you again Michael" Robin said, recalling Bagon, "But I've got to go. I'll see you around" She kissed Michael on his cheek. I let out a cry, jumped, and bit the bottom of her pants leg. "Awe, Angel doesn't want me to go!"

"Oh, I want you to go some where" I growled. Michael pried my jaws from Robins pants leg, and the two of us walked over to the challengers mat. Roxanne was already on the other side of the gym, and I could see Louis and Enfer in the bleachers, watching us.

"You're friend was quit good" Roxanne said.

"She's not my friend"

"Never the less, she was good. Let's see how you do, the match will be two on two. Choose your first pokemon"

"Alright" Michael grinned, "Come on Rush, time for fun"

"It's good to be alive" Rush chirped happily, as he appeared on the field. Roxanne smiled.

"A Mudkip, good choice" The grown woman in a school girl outfit said, "My first choice will be this, go Geodude"

"Ready" The small rock exclaimed, as it appeared on the field. I was right, Geodoof(I don't have high respect for Geodude). Why all rock-type leaders feel they need to use Geodude is beyond me.

"Okay, lets make this fast, Rush, water gun"

"Geodude, avoid and use rock-throw" Rush fired off a stream of water, which Geo avoided by rolling to the left. As Rush shot a second water gun, Geo picked up a large rock, and threw it straight at Rush.

Rush jerked his head up, and instead fired his water gun at the rock, suspending it in mid-air. Geo used this as an opportunity to throw a second rock, this one hitting Rush under the neck, and throwing him into a stalagmite.

"Rush!" Michael, and me both cried. Rush stood up slowly, and shook the gravel off. "Good job, use mud-slap" Using his foreleg, Rush slammed a solid stream of mud, hitting Geo dead on. Geo let out a yell of pain, and some of the mud stuck in his eyes, lowering his accuracy.

"Very nice" Roxanne said. "Geodude, use defense curl, then rollout" Geo curled its self in a ball, then began spinning rapidly.

Now, using those two together makes perfect sense. Defense curl helps fortify Geodude against water gun, and it doubles the power of roll out. Rollout gets stronger and faster the longer it goes on. But one huge thing didn't make sense, the longer rollout goes on, the lower the accuracy of the attack become. It already wasn't going to be accurate, because of the mudshot. Then, it got strange.

Geodude and Rush were perfectly aligned. Geodude should have rolled foreword, and tried to slam into Rush. Instead, Rush fired a water gun, and Geodude rolled to the left!

"Uh? Rush, follow it, I guess"

"On it boss" Rush chirped. He bounded happily after the spinning rock, firing water as he went.

"What are you doing Roxanne?" I mumbled. As Geo rolled through the rock field, he left a small trench where ever he rolled, about a foot wide and nine inches deep. When Rush fired his water gun, and missed Geo, he instead filled up the trench with water.

Off they went, Geodude criss-crossing across the field, and Rush filling the ever growing trench with water. Suddenly, Geodude made a sharp U-turn, and head straight at Rush. Rush leapt up, still firing down, and made direct contact with the top of Geo!

Geo began to spin out of control, spinning in circles, until it hit a curved stalagmite. The stalagmite worked like a ramp, and flung Geodude into the air.

"Now Rush, water gun Geodude, keep him in the air" Rush fired his last water gun, which hit the spinning Geodude on the bottom. It pinned him in mid-air, as he span, it soaked him all over. Geo spun slower and slower, until he quit altogether. Rush stopped the water, and Geo fell out of the sky like a sack of dirt. He slammed into the ground, with a sick CRACK.

"Geodude, return" Roxanne said. "Alright, you did good. But my next one wont be so easy, go Nosepass"

The small, Easter island head was brought out on a small plateau, surrounded on all sides by water. One good tackle, and it would land in the water, match over. It wasn't even facing Rush, it was facing the left slightly, probably facing north.

"Um, okay" Michael said, "Rush, mud-slap" Roxanne laughed.

"Got you, Nosepass, thundershock" It hit me right then.

Now, Nosepasses best trait is its defense, but at this level, its defense wasn't much to write home about. I would have used water gun my self, but this was Michaels battle. The only way for Nosepass to survive this battle, would be to hit first, and get a one hit KO That's exactly what he did.

As Rush prepared to fire the mudshot, Nosepass fired thundershock at the water surrounding his little plateau. The moment the thundershock hit, all the water on the field became electrified, including the water that Rush stood in. Rush let off a small noise, and collapsed.

"Rush!" Michael exclaimed, as he returned the collapsed Mudkip.

"Their, you have one, and I have one" Roxanne said calmly. "Bring on your second" Michael bit his bottom lip, and looked down at me.

"Alright Angel, you're up" Wait, Angel? He didn't mean me right?! With a gulp, I ran onto the field, anxiety send tremors from my ears to the tip of my tail. I faced Nosepass.

"Alright fucker, lets dance" Nosepass said nothing, stone brained son of a bitch.

"Angel, use sand attack, and stay out of the water" Like you have to tell me twice. Roxanne ordered rock tomb, and I dodged falling rocks left and right, pausing long enough to kick a stream of sand at the small rock.

"Good, now use tackle"

"Nosepass, take one step backwards" As I jumped at Nosepass, it took its one step. This caused it to stumble, and fall straight back. This should have caused it to fall into the water, right? Wrong.

Remember, Nosepass has one unique feature. Its nose, must always point north, it's magnetically pulled north. When it began to fall backwards, the magnetic pull of its nose sprung into action, and jerked it back up like a slingshot, right as I was about to make contact. Nosepass slammed its two ton rock body into me, and I took off like a rocket, slamming through rocks, and rolling until I landed in a trench.

"Okay, that hurt" I growled.

"Nosepass, we're almost done, use thundershock"

"To hell with that!" I screamed. Nosepass fired the electricity, but I jumped out of the water first. My mouth opened, as if I had no control over it, and a ball of purple energy appeared in it. As this happened, Michael's pokedex clicked to life. He unclipped it from his belt, and opened it fast.

"Attacks learned" The little device chirped, "Shadow ball"

"Shadow ball?" Enfer mumbled. "This is a very interesting development.

_Eevee don't learn shadow ball naturally!_ I though, _And even if I did, I didn't level up!_

"Angela" The voice of the Meowth from my dreams filled my head, "What on earth could ever make you consider your self a normal Eevee? Don't think, just fire"

_Just fire_ I nodded, and shot the shadow ball, right at the plateau where Nosepass stood. The small plateau collapsed, and Nosepass landed in water. As I landed on the ground, I could no longer hear what Michael said, but I was a good idea. I ran, and slammed into Nosepass with all my might. The weakened rock made no noise, it just closed its eyes, and passed out.

The match was ours. Fuckin' A.


	12. What A Waste

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XII : What A Waste**

"One badge" Michael said. "We've got one badge, and seven more to go"

"Yeah dude, feel good" Louis said, "Celebrate, that's why I brought you here!"

"You brought me here to celebrate?" Michael asked. Louis had brought us to a strip club called The Down And Dirty. A place where smoke machines ran non-stop, women who dreamed of acting, they danced on poles, and the same dreadful rave music played non-stop. We sat in a red-vinyl booth, that kept pulling my fur. Louis had offered to buy Michael a lap dance. Michael explained that it was against his principals, so Louis bought him self one. The stripper took one look at him, said no amount of money was worth that, and quit her job on the spot.

I laughed my ass off, or at least I should have. Right now, I was preoccupied, as was Michael. Both had one thing on our minds, and it wasn't the gym battle we just won, it was Robin, and her Bagon. Yeesh, what fucking nightmare.

I knew why she had chosen to capture Bagon, in its first form, it was adorable. I honestly wondered what Robin would do, when that cute little Bagon, became a hulking, ferocious Salamence. It might eat her. Actually, I would pay money to see that, even though Robin might give it food poisoning.

If she wanted a beautiful dragon type, go with Altaria! If she wanted one with few weaknesses, go with Kingdra. Give Bagon to Michael, imagine what I(Er, we) could do with that! Now, we needed something strong to deal with it, supposing Robin keeps Bagon, and doesn't file it away like Treecko the moment it evolves. Only an idiot would do that, so with Robin, their was a fifty-fifty chance.

Pokemon as strong as that stupid dragon will be, are few and far between. Dragonite aren't found here, nor are Tyranitar or Garchomp. Metagross would be the best bet, but we would first need a Bedlum, and no body knows where Bedlum come from(They just kind of appear)! The only other dragon type found here, are the previously mentioned Altaria, and the dessert demon Flygon. Ice type attacks will work, but if they don't take it down in one hit, it'll take them down in the next one. If we don't find something strong, we'll have to rely on ice type attacks, and only one pokemon in our little group can learn ice-type moves.

I sighed, and looked at Rush. He had been healed, immediately after our battle, and now he sat beside me in our corner booth in the strip club. Rush was fast asleep, his little chest moving up and down. One day, if we have to meet Robin in battle, our salvation may lye in a sixteen pound, blue water sack. God, if it ever came to that, and he won, I might have to show Rush respect! The thought sent shivers down my spine.

"What's with you?" Enfer asked from across Rush.

"I'm just thinking, about Robin" I murmured.

"Robin, was she the red haired girl, with the shiny pants suit?"

"That's the one"

"Why are you thinking about her?" I let out a cry of anguish.

"Because, she is living proof of every thing in life that is unfair! Robin didn't want to be a trainer, but she decides to become one, God knows why. The first pokemon she catches, a Ralts! I prefer Abra and its line personally, but Ralts is rare! The next thing she captures, Bagon. Who the hell just stumbles onto a Bagon? She catches pokemon depending on how cute they are, not how strong they are, she shouldn't capture a Bagon!"

"Life's funny like that" Enfer said. "Good people live miserable lives, airhead like Robin, life blesses them. You can't obsess over it, it'll make you miserable. Focus on the good things that have happened" She smiled. "Like the gym battle you won" Now I was smiling.

"It wasn't much. I mean, we beat Roxanne, every one beats Roxanne"

"Yeah, but you're a normal type, going up against a rock type. They have the advantage, and you were able to succeed, where Rush didn't"

"Rush would have taken down that stupid rock, had he not gotten electrocuted. I didn't even see what she was planning, and Rush was more then strong enough to take down anything Roxanne had" I stopped in mid-sentence. "Did you just get me to say something positive, about Rush?"

"I dunno" Enfer said, "Did I?" I laughed.

"I'm beginning to like you, Ms. Enfer"

"No" Rush mumbled in his sleep. Enfer and I both turned to the tiny mudpuppy.

"Rush, are you okay?" Enfer asked, concern filling her voice.

"Please, I'm sorry" Rush whispered. "It's not my fault, it wasn't supposed to end up like this"

"He's dreaming"

"He's having a nightmare" I said, "I should know, I've had a few of them my self. Rush is remembering something"

"But what?" Both of our eyes were drawn to the scar on his tail. Slowly, I reached my forepaw out, and touched it. Rush let out a squeal, as his body began to shake.

"Please, I'm sorry" He cried. Even Michael noticed this one.

"Rush what is it?" Michael asked, picking up the shaking/sleeping pokemon. "What's the matter, come on, wake up!" He pressed Rush against his body, and slowly stroked his back, until he woke up. Rush didn't say a thing, just sobbed into Michaels shirt.

"What the hell was that?" Enfer asked.

"Something terrible" I responded grimly.

"I don't know what happening to Rush" Michael said to Louis, "But something is bothering him, let's leave"

"No way man, we're celebrating" Louis said.

"Yeah, about that, I don't want to celebrate my first gym win, in a strip club. I mean, how pitiful and desperate is that?"

"Dude, you can't leave. I was going to order round for each of us"

"I'm under age, and Rush, Enfer, and Angel are pokemon"

"Uh" Louis began to think about it. "I guess I'll have to drink them all my self, what a pity"

"Yeah, your such a martyr" Michael said sarcastically.

"Hey, I do it for the children. The more I drink, the less they have to drink" Louis sighed. "Alright, we'll leave, if you let me buy you a lap dance"

"No, we're going now"

"Come on, just one lap dance. We're not going until you let a stripper rub her self against you"

"No, we'll leave now, because if we don't, I'll tell the police that you took me, a minor, to a strip club, and tried to give me alcohol. You're going in front of a judge later this week, for pissing on the cop car, how good do you think that will make you look"

"Man, what do you have against strippers?"

"Nothing, if they want to do this, it's their business. I have something against rotting in a strip club, when one of my pokemon is in pain"

"Dude, Rush is fine"

"LOUIS!" Michael closed his eyes, and calmed himself. "Don't make me choose between you and my pokemon, trust me, you can't win"

* * *

We got back to the hotel twenty minutes later. Rush stopped crying, and fell into nervous sleep, Michael carried him the whole way back. His little body still went into tremors though, telling me the nightmare wasn't quit over.

"Alright dude" Louis said, as we got to Michaels room. "Since you wouldn't let me buy you a lap dance, I got you another gift. A congratulations on your first win gift, it should be in your room"

"Oh God" Michael moaned, as he opened the door. Sitting on Michaels bed, was a blond haired woman, wearing a beautiful nothing. This woman might have been pretty, about three abusive johns, six hundred cigarettes, and a couple of nasty rehab visits ago.

"Are you Michael Luccelli?" Michael nodded, to numb to speak. "I'm Desire. I'm here to" She noticed Louis standing beside him. Her expression changed to anger. "I thought I said, I don't do three ways" She then saw me and Enfer. "And if you want to watch me do stuff with pokemon, that costs extra!" Michael turned to Louis.

"You got me a thank you hooker?"

"A congratulatory hooker!" I shook my head, astounded at Louis's stupidity.

"You know, don't be mad at Louis" Enfer said, "He didn't actually do any thing wrong. He just wanted to do something nice for Michael. The problem is, Louis has such an eschewed since of what is nice, this was what he automatically thought to do"

"Uh, Ms. Desire, you have to go" Michael said, "Their has been some kind of mix-up"

"I'm still getting paid" She said, as she got off of Michaels bed.

"Yeah, you are. He" Michael gestured to Louis, "Is going to pay you double.

"What?! Double! She didn't do anything!"

"You ordered me a hooker!" Louis grumbled, and pulled out his wallet. The still naked Desire took the cash, and headed off. "Shouldn't you have clothes?"

"Didn't bring any. I live on the floor below this one" As she left, Michael, not speaking to Louis, took me and Rush, and shut the door in his face.

Michael had a dream that night. It was a dream that he had never had before, and he couldn't explain why he had it then. He would have it many times over the next few months. Michael dreamt of the last time he saw me.

**

* * *

**

Michael's POV

The world seemed unusually bright, and their seemed to be a haze hanging over every thing. Their was no noise from the street, the street running in front of my house. I found my self standing there, but I had no idea how I got there. In my hands, was a pokemon egg. But it wasn't glowing, and their was no feeling of life coming from it. It felt like a weight, if felt dead. Yet, their was something in the egg, but I didn't know what.

Suddenly, I could hear a sound. A rhythmic thump-thump-thump, like shoes hitting the cement, but deeper, more base. I could see the source, a girl coming up the street. She wasn't particularly tall, and she was slightly overweight. Her hair was long and black, some people would say greasy, but I loved the shine in her hair. It was her eyes in particular, they were the color of aged whiskey. They were hypnotizing, they drew you in by some unknown quality.

"Hello, little girl" I said. Angela looked up at me. Angela, my next door neighbor, the girl I had been in love with for I don't know how long. My parents told me I was an idiot, going crazy over just "some trashy girl". I don't care what they said, Angela was every thing I wanted. She was brass, adventurous, and she never took crap from any one.

"That thing is glowing, shouldn't you take it in?" Angela asked.  
"A pokemon bonds with the first human it sees. I've been instructed how to help in the hatching, I have an area in side my house all set up. I came out here though, because you seem depressed" I looked her in the eye. Sorrow, I could see it in her eyes. "Are you depressed?"

"No, I'm not" Angela denied. She tried to smile. "I'm fine" The door to her house swung open. "I have to go" I watched as she turned away, and walked to the door, her feet not making a noise as she walked.

"Angela!" I called, as I sat down the egg. I ran over, and grabbed her by the shoulder. She turned around, a dazed look on her face. "Angela, you're not okay, I can tell. Please, tell me how I can help"

"I have to go Michael" Angela said, in a monotone. From where I stood, I could see her bedroom window. In the window, I could see a noose hanging. I turned to her, terrified. "Good-bye Michael" She began to walk away.

As she did, I found my self unable to move. The pokemon egg was back in my hands, but Angela was out of my sight. I felt my lips mouth out my screams, as I watched her in her window, standing on a chair. Finally, I found my voice.

"ANGELA!" I screamed, as tears rolled down my face. Angela pulled the noose around her neck. "Please, don't do it" But it didn't matter. I watched as the chair fell away, and Angela's body went limp.

As she quit moving, light filled my field of vision. Light, from where? Looking down, the egg in my hands, it was glowing. I felt life, new life radiating from the egg. But, something else. That thing I felt earlier, I knew what it was.

It was hope. A second chance. A second chance at what though? I pondered this, as my world went black.

* * *

Michael shot up, jarring me awake. Sweat was pouring off of his head, and even in the darkness, I could see he had saturated his pillow. His face was etched in fear, or in sorrow, I couldn't tell.

"Whaz happening?" Rush asked, he was also woken up. Michael looked down at both of us, and he smiled.

"I'm sorry guys, I had a nightmare" He said. Rush and me both hopped onto his lap, and nuzzled against his chest. "Hey, it's okay, I just had a dream" Michael thought about it a moment. "But it didn't seem like a dream, it seemed so real. If it was, what was I seeing? Angela?"

I jerked at the mention of my real name. Michael lay back on his pillow, and stroked me and Rush. When he said my name, I felt more hope in me, then I had ever felt before. He would know who I was, Michael would know, eventually, he had to. I thought, that was the biggest thing that would happen that night.

I was wrong. Miles away, in an underground, high security prison, something even bigger was happening. Something horrible. But that will be covered in the next part of my story.


	13. Agony

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XIII : Agony**

I don't know if I believe in the devil. What I mean is, I'm not sure that I believe in the conscious devil, the great evil being who plots in the demise of the human race, for laughs. I believe that the devil isn't an entity, but rather, is a force. I believe it infects humans, and they then carry out acts of evil. The devil is not responsible, they are.

I believe this, because I have met true evil. Evil with out reason, or function, evil that was so great, no human could have ever created it. The evil's name was Jerry Tagger. The night of my (Err, our) first gym victory, he was in a prison cell.

* * *

Isolé prison was a nasty place. It was built on a stone island, where no plants could grow. It was located north of Hoenn and south of Johto. It was the place of no return, a place where the damned went to die. Three people had escaped form the prison, none had escaped from the ocean. All three of them had eventually been discovered, their bloated bodies washing up in Hoenn or Johto.

Working here paid fantastic, but you would never get the chance to use your money until you retired. All guards, and others working there, were given free bored and lodge, free food, 52 paychecks a year, and mandatory retirement at age 40. Seems like a sweet deal. Since the prisoners are not allowed out of their cells, it should have been a sweet deal. Three problem is, working in Hell on earth, makes demons out of men.

It was horrible. The prisoners knew they had nothing to loose, so they acted that way as well. The only time some one went into their cells was to drop off food. The prisoners were handcuffed to the wall, and had shackles put around their legs. Some how, they still managed to get loose, and frequently they tried to run, or killed the guard in the cell.

Another horrible thing was the raving. Being locked in a cement cell, with the only thing you could see are the walls, it does things to you. Mostly, it drives you insane. No more sun light, no more interaction, your mind becomes your only friend. And your mind soon decides it doesn't like you.

They ranted and raved, screaming curses, obscenities, every blasphemy that they could think of, at the guards and them selves. They were spirited by a metal door with only a small window, but they would attempt to spit or masturbate on the guards, smear shit on the window, any thing to horrify them. Although these things horrified the guards, their was one cell that truly frightened them.

Every one cracked eventually, that was the belief the guards held. Even the guards cracked, those who survived until retirement had a high suicide rate. The saw horrible things, stuff dreamed up in the deepest pits of hell. Murder, rape, suicide, and many other nightmares, kept the guards awake at night. Each cell held a monster in it. But none had a monster like this one.

It was located in the bottom of the prison, the section for serial killers and mass murderers. Nicknamed "Phlegethon", it was where the worst resided. The monster we are talking about, sat in the cell at the end of the hall. Running over head were a set of lights, one in front of each cell. In front of this cell, two spot lights had been set up, and pointed at the cell door. He could never be in darkness.

His name was Jerry Tagger. He had been a resident of the prison of the last sixteen years. His crime had never been specified, the government of Hoenn kept it classified. He had been moved to this wing, after being in a cell for two people. Tagger's cell mate had been a man who blew out a tire on a school bus, and killed all of the children on board as they ran out. This man stood six foot four, two-hundred and forty pounds of muscle. Tagger, who stood five-foot ten, one-hundred and eighty pounds, killed him in thirty seconds. What made this evil?

Tagger killed him, before he knew what the man did.

Now, Tagger sat on the bed in his cell, staring at the ceiling. They had to put him to sleep before entering his room, or he would kill them. Tagger, in his sixteen years, had never once slept. He had never spoken. The only time he moved, was to eat and use the small toilet. His black hair had never been cut, but it had only grown an inch. His steel gray eyes, they never blinked. He stared, and he killed.

As scary as he was, none of the guards had an idea just how deep Tagger's insanity ran. Tagger's insanity was not like the other inmates, oh no. His insanity, was one of logic and realism. Tagger believed that their was nothing after this, no after life, no God, no devil, no universal right and wrong, no morality, nothing. He believed, that some men were above others. These intelligent men, were above the common man's morals, and they must not follow these codes, for they are extraordinary men.

Tagger had always known that he was intelligent, extraordinary. He had needed to prove this to him self one time, and he figured, if a person can murder with out feeling a thing, they were extraordinary. So, that's what Tagger did. When he was eight years old, he set his sister on fire. He felt nothing.

Tonight was special for Tagger, he felt it in his veins. For a while now, he had toyed with the idea of escaping. He had grown bored with the prison, and it was his right as an extraordinary man, to be entertained. Tagger was vaguely aware that their was a storm that night. He could faintly hear rain and waves, pounding against the stone prison. His cell was water proof though (isn't that nice, the tax payers money is going towards keeping this fuck dry, when all he needs is a minute ride in ole' sparky).

Tonight, Tagger also thought about Anna, oh God Anna. The whore, the fucking whore, she was the reason he was rotting in a cell. He wanted to kill her, so badly he wanted to kill her. If only he could figure out where she was. How she survived that night on the bridge, he would never understand.

Then, his thoughts turned to Chris. Sweet, sweet child. Anna hid Chris from him, the two of them were probably still in hiding, even though he had been gone for years.

She had filled Chris's head with lies about him, Tagger was sure of it. He had tried to explain the truth to Anna, the truth about him, but she didn't understand. That is what Tagger hated, more then being a whore, or a liar, she was an idiot. And an idiot had to die.

ANGELA DUNCAN

Tagger shot up on the bed, and began sweating heavily. The name, one he had never heard before, had burst into his head like a shot. He had no idea where this information was coming from, but more was following it. Tagger knew he had an enemy, named Angela Duncan. He knew he had to escape and find her. But most importantly, when he found her, he had to kill her. Now, how would Tagger escape?

Prison Guard Julio Cruiz had drawn the short straw that night, which meant he was the one who got to serve dinner in lunatic lane. His cart now had one food tray on it, and Julio was pushing it to the door with three lights.

"Alright sunshine, it's time for lights out" Julio muttered, as he pulled out his key card. Next to the door, was a key-card reader and a thumb print reader. The key-card would activate the sleeping gas, and his thumb print would open the door. He prepared to swipe the key-card, when he noticed Tagger, hanging from the light in his cell, by a bed sheet.

"Holy Fuck" Without thinking, Julio dropped the key-card, and touched the print reader. The door shot backwards, but he walked in slowly, staring at Tagger's body. It seemed surreal, hanging there, not moving, light being cast around it, almost causing it to glow. "Wait, the noose isn't around his neck, it's under his chin!"

"That's right fuckhead" Tagger's eyes shot open, and his legs wrapped around Julio's neck. Julio didn't make a noise, as Tagger snapped his neck. Tagger grabbed onto the part of the noose above his head, and pulled him self up, giving just enough room to pull his head out. "They're probably watching this" Tagger mumbled, as he dropped to the ground. He pulled out Julio's gun, and then pushed his body into the cell doorway, right as the emergency lock-down activated, and the cell door prepared to shut. The door instead got stuck on Julio's body, allowing just enough room for Tagger to escape.

As he raced down the hallway, Tagger knew he had to get the three pokemon he had had when he had been put in prison. A Froslass, a Skarmory (which he could use to escape) and a Garchomp. Each one served an important purpose, and they were held in the wardens office. Upon his death, they would have been released.

The wardens office was on the top floor of the prison. As Tagger made his way out of the bottom floor, he found a surprise. Twenty guards, posed in front of the stairs that lead to the other three floors. Each had a gun out, posed at Tagger. He recognized one of the ones in front, as the head of the guards. Clipped around his waist, was a remote that activated and deactivated the emergency lockdown.

"Face it Tagger, you can't escape" The head guard said. "You don't have enough bullets for all of us"

"You know, you're right" He raised his gun, and shot the head guard between the eyes. As he collapsed, the others opened fire. Tagger smiled, and rushed at the guards, knowing they couldn't hit him. He was right, as Tagger jumped at the head guard's body, the bullets missed and went every which way. Tagger unclipped the remote, and rolled, moving just enough for the bullets to miss. As he stood up, behind the guards, he waved the remote with pride.

"NO!" The guards screamed.

"Nothing will stop me" An alarm announced the emergency lock-down being terminated, as all the cell doors opened. The guards forgot about Tagger, as the prisoners swarmed, and Tagger was able to make his way through the throng of mad men. Tagger made it to the wardens office with out meeting a single living guard.

"Honey, I'm home" Tagger declared, as he opened the door to the wardens office. Two things surprised him. One, the door was not locked, and two, the warden was a woman. A woman, with a shot gun, poised at his chest. "Now, is that necessary?"

"You tell me" She said. "Tagger, you escaped from your cell, and killed my guards. Do you think I'm going to let you live?"

"Do you think I'll give you the chance to kill me?" The two eyed each other. "BANG" Tagger screamed, as he dropped to the ground. The warden fired, but the pellets scattered into the wall, missing Tagger. Tagger pulled out his gun, and aimed for her skull. He never missed.

As the warden slumped to the ground, Tagger walked to the PC located in the corner of her office. All of the folders were named, and pulling up the Tagger folder, showed his three pokemon. Tagger withdrew them, and clipped Froslass to a belt that he had taken off of Julio's body. He would need new clothes, but none of that mattered, he was free.

"Garchomp, come" The huge ground dragon let out a roar, as it was released from its ball for the first time. It looked at Tagger, and let out another roar, this one of joy. "Shut up you stupid lizard, hyper beam on the back wall" Garchomp opened its mouth, and blasted a tremendous hole through the six feet of concrete. As soon as it finished, Tagger withdrew it, and pulled out the second pokeball.

"Skarmory, come" The metal bird appeared on the ledge of cement. Tagger climbed on its back, watching the rain and water pour in through the hole. Tagger kicked the bird, and they were off.

In five hours, the official story would be released, that a prison riot had resulted in the deaths of all guards and prison officials. In six hours, the list of prisoners would be released to the public, and Tagger would not be on the list. The governments would begin a secret investigation, in all places except Hoenn, believing Tagger would never go back there.

What they didn't know, was Tagger had a mission. He had to kill Angela Duncan. Tagger wouldn't stop, until he had killed me.


	14. What's Your Rush?

****

National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help

**XIV : What's Your Rush?**

It used to be that you could go on your trainers journey, and you would never need a grass type. This was true, until Wooper was discovered. Quagsire, Marshtomp, Swampert, Barboach, Whishcash, and Gastrodon, what do they all have in common? Four things, they have terrible speed, they have immunity to electric type, they are ultra-weak to grass type, and they have all become common on peoples teams.

Now, I would never use a water/ground type, since I don't being quadruple weak to any type. I would maybe use Swampert, but if we're doing water combinations, I'll use Kingdra. One weakness, good attack/defense/sp. attack and defense/ and good speed. But, this isn't about what I would do, so I'll get off of it.

Rush, as you know, is a Mudkip, and would one day evolve into a Swampert. He had mentioned earlier, that he had no interest in evolving, a view both he and Enfer shared. Now, I don't understand Rush's reasons for not wanting to evolve, and even though it sounds selfish, I didn't care. I was conflicted, me the person, and me the strategist.

Me the strategist knows that you can only go so far with an un-evolved Mudkip. It's attack can only get so high, it can only learn X number of moves, and it can't be used seriously later in your journey. I mean, would you leave Treecko un-evolved, when the only grass type moves it could learn are absorption moves? Or, would you leave Torchic un-evolved, where the strongest move is can learn is a half-strength flame-thrower? No, you wouldn't. I had always believed that stories like that sold news papers, but they couldn't be taken seriously.

At level 16, a Mudkip evolves into Marshtomp. Me the person, wants to help Rush never evolve. There are some advantages to remaining a Mudkip, they have the highest attack of any first form starter. Swampert have always scared me, and he wouldn't be one, so that would be an advantage. Least importantly, Rush would be happy (this could be a good thing or a bad thing).

Why am I ranting like this? Let's back to earlier this morning.

* * *

Every morning, Michael, Louis, me, Rush, and Enfer went to the restaurant run next door to our whore house hotel for breakfast. It was a rather grungy place, Louis said it was a greasy spoon. I believed it was a crack spoon, and I suspected the people here of being coke dealers. People would come in twitching, they would leave sniffling.

Enfer and Rush had been given poke-food, Michael was having eggs, and Louis was taking in all three food groups (alcohol, pot, and more pot). I was being nursed on a baby bottle still, since Eevee can't eat solid foods until they are two moths old. God, I hate being a baby, almost as much as I hate being dependent on the rubber nipple for food.

"Five weeks together Angel" Michael said, stroking my fur with the hand he held me with. I nuzzled against his chest, and he smiled. "Louis, today we need to go the trainers school here in Rustboro"

"Why the fuck would we do that?"

"They have a challenge. Beat two trainers, when the technical machine for the move Hidden Power" Michael smiled softly, and stroked the back of my head slower. "Angel only knows two attacks, and how she knows the second is beyond me. Having her learn a third can only be beneficial, especially since the next gym is fighting type, and hidden power can be psychic or flying type, among all other types except normal"

"That's fascinating" Louis pulled out a joint, and lit up. Michael grabbed it out of his mouth, and dropped it in his Bloody Mary. "Dude, what the hell?"

"No more pot" Michael said. "I don't know if you can get addicted, but I'm sure you need to detox from the abuse you've put your body through. No more booze, no more pot, and no more hookers/stripers until you go in front of a judge" Louis paused for a moment, mouth agape.

"What is this, a stupid contest? Because, ding-ding-ding, we've got a winner here!"

"Boy, this is a bad idea" Enfer said shaking her head.

"What do you mean" Rush asked.

"Have you ever seen Louis off of pot?" Both me and Rush shook our heads. "Boy, are you two in for a treat" Michael took the bottle out of my mouth, and sat me down beside Rush.

"God, I hate being nursed" I moaned.

"Well, you have to do it until you're canines grow all the way in" Rush said, "Some people call them fangs"

"Fangs? They're a half an inch long, and curve slightly"

"Yeah" Rush said sweetly, "but they look so cute"

"I may be a puffball" I said equally sweet, "But I'll still pin you down and kick the crap out of you"

"Louis, can I ask you a question?" Michael said, as he picked at his eggs.

"You dropped perfectly good pot in my drink!" Louis cried, "I need my pot/vodka mix to wake me up in the morning" Michael sighed.

"I was going to ask if you ever had dreams that seemed real"

"Dreams? What the fuck is this about dreams?" Louis pulled out another joint, and lit up. Once again, Michael grabbed it, and dropped it in his Bloody Mary. "Dude, what did my little joints ever do to you? They're my babies! Must you drown my babies? Before I get the chance to smoke them?"

"You're a moron" Michael said, "And I need some one to talk to, it has to be you. I had a dream about the day Angela died" Louis had put a third doobie in his mouth, but as soon as Michael mentioned me, it fell out of his mouth and into his Bloody Mary.

"Oh dude, I'm so sorry" Michael nodded.

"I saw she was in pain"

"Their was nothing you could do"

"Yeah, and I did nothing" Michael closed his eyes for a moment. I felt really, really shitty, and seeing Michael open his eyes without tears didn't help. "But, I'm getting over it. Let's pay for this, and get to the trainers school"

* * *

It ended up taking two hours, for Michael to destroy all of Louis's pot, especially considering Louis fought him for every moment. Finally, we were out the door, and Louis was acting, well, weird.

"Michael, you know what the greatest thing in life is? Better then money, or love, or religion, or power? Being able to nail a woman, and never having to talk to her again"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Me and Michael asked.

"Oh, this is philosophical Louis" Enfer said.

"Philosophical?"

"There are five versions of Louis, that happen when he goes off drugs and alcohol. Philosophical, followed by happy, crying, and paranoid Louis" Rush furrowed his brow, as he counted.

"Wait, that's only four!"

"I know" Enfer grinned, "No one ever gets to fifth Louis, they all crack" With that pleasant note, the five of us arrived at the trainers school. It was a rather blah-blah two story, brick building. Inside were some of the worst trainers in Rustboro. But, they had a TM, so it was worth it.

The doors opened automatically, and the cold air rushing across my fur was a blessing(fucking heat wave). The five of us walked to a counter, where a chirpy woman sat.

"Heeeeellllllllloooooo" The woman said.

"Um hi. I'm here to do the trainers challenge"

"Why do they do this?" Louis asked.

"Well, the trainers can win a technical machine, and the students get credit"

"No, I mean, what's the deeper meaning? What's in between the lines?" The woman just stared. Michael shook his head in shame.

"The, uh, trainers door is over there" The woman said, pointing. "We'll be with you in five minutes"

"Did you know Roxanne used to run this place" Louis said, as we entered the trainers side. In side was a miniature battle area, like the one at the gym, except with out the rocks.

"I wonder why she left?" Rush said. The rumor was that Roxanne had been thrown out because she had been caught having sex in the school. I didn't believe it, I mean it was crazy. Their was no way that any one could ever be drunk enough to do that rock-brained robot.

"Greetings, trainer" a man in a three piece suit said, as he entered the room. He was holding a clip board. "Are you Michael Luccelli?"

"That I am" The clipboard man nodded.

"Student 227, enter" 227? This schools motto was "Establishing a unique identity for all trainers" and they call them by number? A male student, in an idiotic outfit and square frame glasses, entered the room. He had one pokeball in his hand, that had the school logo engraved on it.

"Alright, the rules are simple. One on one, 227 will only speak to the school issued pokemon, understand trainer Luccelli?"

"Yeah" Michael said.

"This battle will be fun!" Louis exclaimed. "Happy! Happy! Happy!" Clap-clap-clap!

"Happy Louis?" I asked.

"Bingo"

"Angel, you're up" Michael said. I walked in front of him, waiting for my challenge.

"Abra, battle time" 227 said like an automaton. From the engraved ball, a sleeping psychic pokemon emerged. It wore a band around its arm, also with the school logo. The two trainers we would battle would use the same pokemon, both only using Hidden Power.

"Alright Angel, lets make it quick, shadow ball" Abra, keeping in line with its evolved forms, has no noticeable defense or special defense. Its defense was in fact so low, it has one of the lowest defenses of any pokemon. Even a fighting type can defeat it in one hit.

I opened my mouth, and fired the ball of black energy, only to see Abra vanish. Teleport is the only move it can learn naturally and it's a giant pain in the ass. Figuring he would be behind me, I jumped around, right as spheres as of glowing white slammed into me. It hurt, but not only did it hurt, it surged through my body.

"You're hidden power is fighting type?!" I screamed, as I fell on my back, "Of course it is!"

"Okay, no big deal. Angel tackle and flip around" I jumped up, and ran at Abra. As soon as it teleported, I jumped around. "Now shadow ball" I fired, as Abra re-appeared and used Hidden Power again. Since it was fighting type, it vanished as the shadow ball hit it, and the ball slammed into Abra full force.

Abra fell flat on its back, twitched once, and passed out. Lame, oh so horribly lame.

"Trainer Luccelli wins" The suit man said. "227 exit, trainer 418 enter" As 227 left, 418 entered. This one was a girl in a skirted version of the same outfit. It's going to take these people years to establish an identity.

"Alright, Angel you're out, Rush, you're up"

"Yay Rush is up!" Luis cried, clapping again.

"He's scarring me a little" Rush said, as he took his place. The suit man went through the rules again, and 418 let out another Abra. "Let's have fun with this, right?" The Abra began to snore.

"Rush, water gun" Rush fired a stream of water, but the Abra vanished. Since this battle wasn't for any reason other then a TM, it wasn't difficult to win. Rush just jumped, fired a second water gun, and knocked out Abra as he re-appeared. "It was nothing. Wasn't it fun Rush?"

"Kip!" Suddenly, Michael's pokedex began to beep rapidly, as Rush began to glow.

"He's evolving!" Enfer cried.

"Oh fuck" Several things ran through my mind at once, I only had seconds, how do I stop this. As Michael pulled out his pokedex, the answer hit me.

"What're you going to be Rush" Michael said, excited. I fired a shadow ball, right at Michael's hand, causing him to drop his pokedex. The moment it his the ground, I pressed the little green button, next to the identify button, marked with a B.

I had learned in school, this button fired some kind of radiation, that actually stopped pokemon from evolving. Which was exactly what happened, as Rush started to get smaller and stop glowing.

"ANGEL!" Michael screamed, "What did you do!"

"Rush didn't evolve" Louis moaned, "I-I'm soooo soooo saaaaaaaaaadddddd" He broke down crying.

"Angel, do you have an idea what you did? Can you imagine how Rush feels?" Rush came over, and nuzzled against me, licking me friendly on the tip of the muzzle. Michaels anger vanished instantly. "Rush, are you happy?"

"Kip!" Michael smiled. He sat down, and picked up both of us.

"Alright, so Rush stays a Mudkip. It's okay, so long as he's happy. You knew this would make him happy, even when I didn't" He sighed. "I wish I understood you guys"

"Um, not to interrupt this emotional moment" Suit man said, "But could you please collect your TM and get out?"

* * *

"This hidden power is flying type, huh? Machine set" Michael said, twenty minutes later. He fastened a CD like device, with a part to attach to a pokemon's head. It had a button in the center of the CD. "Let's go"

The CD began to spin, and my head was liquefied. Oh God, this is a terrible feeling, the feeling of some one drilling a hole in your skull, and literally forcing information in. My head was filled with images of hidden power, I know that doesn't make sense but it's true. As the CD quit spinning, Michael removed the machine, and I began to sway a little bit.

"Oh God, the world is spinning. Oh boy I'm tired" Enfer and Rush were in the room with us, and they both leapt onto the bed beside me.

"So, super champ" Enfer said, "How does it feel to use your first TM?"

"I'm so tired" I said.

"Angel, are you okay?" Michael asked. He pulled me onto his lap, and stroked my fur. "I promise, it's just to make you stronger. I wouldn't do any thing to"

"THE TANNINS" A voice from the hall screamed. That would be Louis, paranoid Louis. "THEY'RE OUT TO GET ME" Michael let out an exasperated cry.

"I give!" He sat me down, and rushed out the door. "Booze, we need booze!" Rush came over, as I fell on my stomach. He laid in front of me, smiling.

"So, how are you?"

"My head feels like a stick of dynamite went off in side of it" I said. Rush laughed.

"Thank you, for stopping me from evolving. I don't know how I can thank you" Now I was smiling.

"Don't worry, it was nothing" I whispered, as I closed my eyes. Enfer came over, and looked at the now unconscious me.

"It was a nice thing she did"

"Yeah, I know"

"Rush" He looked up, "Why do you not want to evolve?"

"I'd rather not say"

"Rush, I saw you having a nightmare about it. If you tell me, it'll probably make you feel better" Rush nodded.

"Well, if you tell me your story, I'll tell you mine. Enfer, I'm older then you physically, but you're older then me emotionally. How is that?" Enfer sighed.

"I-I can't tell you. I just, I can't" Enfer said, "I can tell you some of my story though"

* * *

I awoke an hour later, but my eye lids were so heavy, I couldn't lift them.

"Well, now you know" Rush said. "And I a little bit"

"Can you understand why I feel sick?"

"You did what you had to do Enfer. And Angel never has to know" This caught my attention. My eyes shot open, as the door opened, and Michael dragged in a very plastered Louis.

"Hey boys and girls" Louis said, "Guess whose baaaaack?!" He laughed, and passed out on the floor. Michael nudged him twice, and sighed.

"I guess I know what we're doing today" I said. "Watching that fat loser sober up"

"Eh, he's not that bad" Enfer said. Michael sat down on the bed, and stared at the ceiling. "Five more days in this city, how are we going to make it?" I wondered the same thing, but I was more curious about Rush and Enfer. What did they know, and what did I miss.

Now, nothing big happened the rest of the week, until the day Louis went to court. That was also the day Robin came, and watched the three of us, but that's another story for next time.


	15. Some People Named Robin

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help**

**XV : Some People Named Robin**

I always remember our final day in Rustboro, mostly because I had counted every second in my head up till that point. It was the day that Louis had to go to court for being a fucking moron, and it couldn't have come, or gone, quick enough. What I most remember though, was what Michael told me that morning.

I had slept horribly, tossing and turning as only and Eevee can. Rush slept like a log, that leaked water out of its mouth. When I woke up on Michael's chest, I starred at Rush for a moment. He seemed so happy, a cute little blue water sack with out a care in the world. But the scar on his tail fin told a different story. I just didn't know what that story was.

"Hey Angel, glad to see you're awake" Michael said, stroking my fur. "I didn't sleep"

"Why not?" He smiled.

"Its nice to see some one in our party cares. You and Rush are a blessing. Ugh, every night for the last few days, I've had horrible dreams. First, I had that dream about Angela. Then, for three days, I had dreams about some kind of monster. Nameless, faceless, coming for me. Yesterday though, it was about Antony"

"Whose Antony" I asked, as I flipped onto my stomach, to get a better look at Michael. What I saw almost scared me. He was beginning to cry.

"I don't ever talk about him, I mean, I never knew him. Antony was my brother, twin brother to be exact. Born one minute before me, and died four minutes later. I never mention him, because I never knew him I suppose. But the truth is it just makes me sad to talk about it. I've always wondered who he would be if he were alive today, I dunno"

This news did shock me. I never imagined that Michael would have had a brother, much less a twin. I mean, when I was human, I doubt I asked Michael about his family ever. In fact, the only thing I knew was his parents liked to do it in their back yard, leading to some rather disturbing memories. Ugh, mental head slap. I really was a self absorbed bitch, wasn't I?

"I know I'm only thinking about him, because of that Angela dream. I've thought about death a lot lately. Antony was one of the two biggest losses in my life" Michael sat up, moving Rush around as he did. Rush didn't even wake up. "I've talked to much about me, let's talk about you. I've never been so proud of you Angel, and Rush. You two beat Roxanne, despite the fact that you were at the disadvantage. Then you helped Rush, when I didn't even know too. I wan to know, are you happy Angel?"

"Michael, I'm"

"Hhhhheeeeeyyyy party people!" Louis cried, as he through door open. Enfer followed close behind, shaking her head. As the door slammed into the wall, Rush was finally woken up.

"Is it morning?" he looked at me and smiled. "Hey Angel, I missed you while I was asleep" Louis was wearing his best clothes, torn jeans and a T-shirt that read "Vagitarian". He was usually working on one or more types of alcohol, today it was bourbon I believe.

"Louis! You woke up Rush" Rush jumped over to Michael's face and gave it a small lick, causing him to laugh. Enfer hopped on the bed with us, as Michael took us off of his lap. "Is that what your wearing to court?"

"Of course. This is my lucky shirt, because I was wearing this it the first time I got lucky" I sighed. I wanted to tell him that the first time he discovered his hand did not count as getting lucky. I mean, how the fuck would some one like Louis get laid? "Then, the best part, she only charged me half price" That was the best part? Way-to-go tiger.

"I bought a suit" Michael said, as he walked into the bathroom. "A suit I bought from a guy on a back of a truck, from whom I also could have bought a genuine Rolex!" Michael came out, wearing a blue suit. "What do you think"

"Dude" Louis said, "You look like a fucking moron. How are you going to get me off, sense we don't have a lawyer?"

"I don't hope to get you off. I hope you have lipstick to apply, because when we go into court you're going to kiss that judges ass. You're going to kiss it, until the judge has to leave to wipe lip prints off"

"Michael, it can't be that bad" Louis said. "I mean, what's my defense?"

"Pot made me do it" Enfer said. "Of course, then he has to explain the pot"

"Your defense is that you are a moron, and this was a spontaneous act of stupidity"

"Alright, I guess that'll work. We should probably head out"

"Yeah, we should. Come on Ang-" Michael froze, and looked at us. "All week long, and I forgot to arrange some one to look after you. Crap"

"Well man" Louis said, as he pulled out a joint. "I guess there is nothing to do, but stay here and get stoned"

"I think I can help" A new voice from the hall said. We all turned, to see the devil in a green pants suit standing there. Not her, any one but her.

"Robin, what are you doing here?" Michael asked, shock filling his voice. Robin smiled, and made her way into the room.

"I've actually had a room on the floor above this one. I left one of my favorite suits here, so I came back for it. The elevator doesn't start on my floor, it starts on this one. Is that screwed up or what?" Robin noticed Louis. She extended her hand, "Robin Dobin"

"Robin Dobin!" Louis laughed, "What kind of fucked up, rhyming name is that?" Robins arm dropped, confused. Her eyes made her way to the bed.

"A Mu-Mudkip?!" Robin stammered, her left eye twitching. "My favorite pokemon. You caught one. You caught my favorite pokemon"

"Robin, you said you could help. Me and Louis have to go, uh, some where for a few hours. Can you watch Angel, Rush, and Enfer for me?"

"S-sure" Robin said, her eye still twitching. "H-have fun" As Michael and Louis left, Robin sat on the bed with us. Enfer and me moved to the other end of the bed, while Rush jumped on her lap. "You know, you are so cute"

"Duh" Robin stroked his head fin.

"I wish I had gotten a Mudkip. All I got was a fucking Treecko" Robin groaned. I aimed my mental gun at her head, and blew her brains out the side of her skull, for talking bad about Treecko, my grass type! It went on like this for an hour, Robin forgot about Rush and pulled out a fashion magazine. Rush went back to sleep, and Enfer came up to me.

"What are you thinking?" Enfer asked. I shrugged.

"I once wrote a list of all the ways I could kill Robin, now I'm arranging them in my favorite order. Number one is, I skin her alive, and feed her to rabid Furret"

"Why do you hate Robin?" I froze. It was a simple question, with a simple answer. But, I couldn't actually think of an answer! Why not, I mean, Robin represented every thing terrible in my life! Didn't she?

* * *

"Hey Angel, look at this" Robin said, suddenly thrusting the fashion magazine in my face. It must have been about pokemon fashion, since their was a picture of an orange Eevee on one page. I still couldn't read what it said (fucking Mew).

"You guys will be alright for five minutes right? Good!" Robin rushed out of the room, leaving the three of us confused. She was gone just about ten minutes, when she returned, a large box in her had. "I've figured out something, the perfect thing to give to Michael as a present" Robin ran into the bathroom, and I could hear water running. Rush bounded over.

"What do you think Robin wants?"

"I can hardly imagine" I sighed. "It will be stupid, you can be that" Robin shut the water off, and came back out. She went over to the bed, and picked me up.

"Angel, you lucky" Robin giggled, "It's a surprise for you to" A surprise, oh fuck.

"Guys, help me!" I screamed. Enfer and Rush jumped up, and ran at the bathroom, but Robin kicked the door shut behind her.

"Angel, do you know what's trendy now?" Robin asked, attempting to pet me, but pulling my fur instead. If I knew, would you have to ask you freaking moron? "Pokemon with dyed fur" It was then I saw the bathtub had light red bubbles.

"FUCK" I screamed, as I squirmed against Robin. She just smiled.

"Don't worry Angel, you'll get in the water soon enough" Robin whispered in my huge ear. As she attempted to lower me into the tub, I spread my small legs, and I was able to it the rim. Robin pushed, but I held on as tight as I could. It was life of dye time. Oh God, I can't let Robin do this.

"I'm Angela you fucking moron" I screamed. "You're trying to dye me, what the fuck is wrong with you? Are you on coke you dip shit?" Robin frowned, and pushed harder. I let out an inhuman scream of pain.

"Angel, its almost like you don't want this"

"I DON'T WAN'T THIS!" I screamed. Robin looked and smiled. She lifted my back leg, and I slipped into the water. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. Pink water filled my field of vision, like some one had dumped stomach medicine all over me. The water tasted like iodine. As my head broke the surface, I took in a deep, gasping breath, grateful for every thing not pink.

"Wow, this stuff works fast" Robin said, as she lighted me out of the tub, some how not getting her sleeves wet. Then towels, all over me, drying me off. After what seemed like a life time, Robin finished drying me off, and sat me on the bathroom sink. "Okay Angel, take a look at the new you"

I was pink. Not a monotone mind you, the cream fur around my neck and the splotch on my tail were light pink, while the rest was a more solid pink. Robin was smiling a toothy grin.

"Michael will love it, don't you think?" He'll love it? Oh my God, I'm a fucking marshmallow peep. I looked like bubble gum. What do you think Michael's feelings will be? As I thought this, the door to the room opened, and I could hear Michael and Louis talking.

"Half of our money on fines. The judge was going to go easy on us! Then you went, and smoked a joint in court!" Michael moaned, "Incredible, all this because you couldn't use a toilet"

"The shitter was broken!"

"What ever. Hey Rush, Enfer. Wait, where's Robin and Angel?"

"We're in here" Robin called, as she moved in front of me, blocking my view. I heard the door open. "So, court went well?"

"I don't want to talk about it, where's Angel?" She laughed.

"Well, I've got a surprise for you" Robin moved out of the way "Tada!" Michael was smiling, when he got a look at me. The look then changed, to half smiling-half horrified. His mouth hung open, and he didn't move. Didn't even breathe. "Michael?" Robin touched him, and he rocked back, with out moving.

"She's?"

"Pink! Yep, you can thank me" Michael looked at Robin, daggers in his eyes. "You'll have to be careful, it's the cheap stuff, so if she gets washed again after two days, it'll wash out"

"How can you be so freaking stupid!" Michael screamed. "You dyed my starter pink?!" Robin's expression changed to confusion.

"B-but, I thought you would like it" Michael sighed.

"Yeah yeah, I know you did" He sighed. "But Robin, your idea of what's good doesn't match every one else's" Michael moved and picked up me. "I guess it's kind of cute" When I let out a Vee of protest, he whispered "If we don't lie, she'll never leave" Robin blinked away tears, and smiled.  
"Well, I was glad to do it. Since you're here, I guess I should leave"

"Please do" I said, "Leave out the window, fifty feet down" As Robin started to leave, Michael jumped up.

"Robin, wait!" She turned around. "I have a question. How did you become good? As a trainer I mean." Robin smiled.

"You know how, back in school, kids would talk about how they would train pokemon, their strategies and such?"

"Yeah"

"And you know how, Angela would then tell them that their strategies were stupid, and point out their problems"

"Yeah" Michael said, letting out a small chuckle.

"Well, when Angela was telling them what they should do, I listened" She shrugged, "I guess it just stuck with me" Robin looked at me one last time. "I'll see you around" As she left, my jaw hung open. Robin listened to me? Fucking strange.

That night, my fur was still light pink, but the dye would be out in a few days. It was late, and Michael was almost asleep. Rush lay beside me, drooling like a fountain. Louis had celebrated getting off with only double the maximum fine, by passing out drunk. Enfer had dragged him into their room, and they were both out for the night.

"I hate this city" Michael whispered, "And I hope to never come back" He smiled. "Tomorrow we head out" Tomorrow we leave.

Fuckin' A.


	16. What Does It Get You?

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help**

**XVI : What Does It Get You?**

The sun rose over Rustboro, on the day we were to leave, and I was still pink. God, I looked like I was made of cotton-candy. I had to lick my leg to make sure I wasn't, nope, tasted like iodine. When I entered a battle, I wanted to strike fear in the hearts of my enemies, as best as an Eevee can. How could I do that if I was pink?

As Michael packed up what little stuff he brought, Rush came over to me, and plopped down beside me. I hadn't gotten the chance to talk to him, since I was dyed. I was amazed Rush had been able to contain himself.

"What's it like?" Rush asked.

"What's what like?"

"What's it like to be made of gum?" I growled, and tried to jump on him. Instead, Rush fired a water gun at my chest, flipped me on my back, and pinned me to the bed. He began to squirt out short shots of water, hitting me as I twisted my head back and forth.

"You know, if I were bigger"

"It would be even more embarrassing when I pinned you, and shot water in your face" I hated to admit it, but Rush was right. He had an advantage that I would never be able to over come. Rush was a natural born Mudkip, I was a human wearing an Eevee suit. No matter what, Rush would have the edge. God, I hated with the blue irritation was right.

"Get off of me, you blue pain in the ass" I snarled. I flipped on my stomach, knocking Rush on his tail fin. He laughed at this for some reason.

"Why is it that you never want to play with me?" Oh God, how many reasons, I can't even list them all.

"I don't know, why don't you tell me about the scar on your tail fin?" Sometimes it helps to be direct, but this wasn't one of those times. That spark in Rush's eyes, that inextinguishable cheerfulness, vanished like some one flicked off a light switch. Guilt washed over me like a wave, in a horrible way. Rush was about to cry.

"I-I'm sorry" I said, "I shouldn't have asked. I'd love to play with you" That spark returned.

"Really, good!" He then jumped on me. As Rush and me wrestled, Louis and Enfer came into the room. Louis had already been drinking, and had two joints in his mouth at once. His eyes were the color of cherries, but if you bit into them, they would have leaked vodka.

"Dude, I need help" Louis slurred. "I can't find my shoes, and I've looked every where"

"You're wearing them!" Louis pause, and looked down. Unfortunately, he dropped one of the joints on the ground as he did. Enfer sighed, and put it out with her forepaw. "How much have you had to drink?"

"He's been setting a world record" Enfer said. "He tried to make me a dirty martini, and serve it in a bowl"

"I woke up at two a.m." Louis said, swaying slightly. "I needed to get back to sleep, so I made a whisky sour. Then a second, then a third. Then I ran out of sour mix (made of cherry juice, lemon, and sugar), so I had to make a run to the liquor store. Except, I forgot where I was going, so I got really stoned instead. Then I remembered I had a bottle of vodka, so I made drinks and got really stoned"

"Okay, more then I needed to know" Enfer plodded over to the bed, and jumped up, as Rush sat on my chest, and I tried to bite his face off.

"What's she trying to do?" Enfer asked.

"Oh, she's trying to brake free and kill me" Rush said, "Don't worry, I've got it under control"

"I'm going to kill you" I growled. By this point in time, the blood had rushed to my brain, and I couldn't use an attack if I wanted to. I could see three of Rush now.

"Oh, you'll get up. Don't worry your pretty, pink head" Pink? That's it!

"DIE" I cried, as I used all of my energy to shove the blue water sack off of me, before jumping on him, paw on his neck. "You loose"

"You're so much fun to play with" Rush said, crawling out from under me. "Why don't you want to do it more often?"

"Because I hate your concept of playing" I growled. "And I hate that you called me pink"

"You are pink" Enfer pointed out.

"DO I LOOK LIKE I CARE?!" I cried. "You know what's scary? I'm not even mad at Robin, for turning me pink. I mean, I should hate her, I should despise her"

"I don't hate her" Rush said, "She was nice. She liked me"

"Of course she liked you! Robin wanted a Mudkip, mostly because they looked cute! No strategy, just adorable. But, I don't hate her for turning me pink, because she was trying to do something nice. She's just really fucking stupid"

"You're not mad because she admitted she used your strategies" Enfer said., "That's it, isn't it?"

"Bite me"

* * *

It would be four more hours, before we got out of Rustboro. First, we had to argue with the people running our hotel/brothel. The guy at the front desk argued with us about the cost of the room, and we finally came to an agreement. He would refund us all of our money, and in return, we would never reveal we walked in on him doing a line of coke off a hookers stomach.

Any ways, after four hours, we were back at Petalburg forest. It's a two day walk with Louis, who was dragging behind us, wearing a paper bag over his head due to light sensitivity. Michael had my book out, and was looking at my notes on gym leaders.

"The next place we are headed is Dewford Town" Michael said, "And the gym leader there is some guy named Brawly" Ugh, Brawly, a giant douche bag. I had once seen Brawly on TV, not for a pokemon battle or any thing, but for a surfing contest. He had been surfing with a Hariyama.

When I was younger, all the boys in my school wanted to grow up to be like Brawly. They said he was so cool. As I said, I think he's an asshole, a giant tumbling dickweed. If you want to idolize a fighting-type specialist, at least idolize Maylene. I'll explain why when I explain my strategy against Brawly, at a later date.

Anyways, I always suspected those boys who idolized him, idolized him because of the life he lived. Gym leaders get 52 pay checks a year, on the grounds they fight a minimum of one battle a month. One battle a month for Christ sake! This man's life was, he battled, he ate, and he surfed! Brawly had discovered that the perfect life did exist! Actually, I suspect I didn't like Brawly because I wanted a life like that to, no work, just fun. Ugh, I hate being honest.

"Another battle" Rush moaned, "How many of those do we have to do?"

"Well, eight gym battles" I said, "And about a billion trainer battles. What are you complaining about? I'm the normal type, going to do battle with fighting type! They'll snap my neck, and then brake me in two. They'll smash my teeth in, and kick me in the stomach for mumbling. I'm the one who doesn't stand a chance, and you're worried?" Rush thought about it.

"You know, you're right. They're going to kill you" Michael suddenly stopped, and it took the four of us a moment to notice.

"Hey Michael dude, what is it?" Louis mumbled. Looking up, all five of us could see a large tree. Slumped on one of the branches, was a Slakoth. It's eyes were glazed over, and it didn't seem to have a clue where it was. It reminded me of Louis, minus all the pot.

"I've got to catch it" Michael mumbled. He reached into his bag, but as he attempted to pull out a pokeball, it slipped and fell on the ground, along with a second that fell out of his bag. Then the rest of his stuff fell out too. "Shit"

This distracted all of us, except Louis, as we helped Michael pick up his crap. When we looked up again, the tree was empty. The Slakoth was gone, and Louis was now staring at the dirt.

"Louis, where did it go?"

"Wha?"

"Where-did-the-Slakoth-go?" Louis looked up, and empty look in his eyes.

"It fell out of the tree"

"And?"

"And, instead of hitting the ground, it kept falling" I nodded. Okay, Louis is an idiot, we've established that.

"Louis, you have to remember what happened"

"Michael, you have a better chance of getting the information from the tree its self" Enfer said. Suddenly, I got an idea.

"Enfer, you're a Growlithe!"

"Took you this long to figure that out?" I let out an exasperated groan.

"Nooooooo. You have a heightened sense of smell. You can smell the Slakoth, take us to it" She shook her head.

"Doesn't work that way. It rained last night, all scent is heightened, I couldn't find that Slakoth if it were on top of me"

"Okay, Angel, Rush, come with me" Michael said, "Let's start looking"

"Yay" Rush cheered, "It'll be like a treasure hunt" Oh God, a treasure hunt, with Rush. Please God, kill me.

* * *

Three hours later, we had accomplished absolutely nothing. No Slakoth found, and the sun had been high in the sky for awhile now. It would have been 90 degrees, with out the humidity. Imagine what it was like for some one in a fur coat.

"I'll give you some water, all you have to do is ask" Rush said.

"I'm fine" I said, as I struggled to put one foot in front of the other. The world was spinning, and I was seeing double. But, I'd rather pass out from heat stroke, rather then rely on Rush.

"I give up" Michael said. Sighing, he sat down and pulled us close to him. He stroked my pink fur, and Rush's head fin. "Well, at least we tried. We can't get every thing we want I suppose. Come on, let's go back to Louis"

Louis was standing in the same spot, staring at the ground. An extra large joint was in his mouth. Leaves from the trees had fallen on him, and it looked like he hadn't moved an inch in the last three hours. Enfer was sitting beside him. As we walked up, she rushed over.

"Well, I searched, but I couldn't find the Slakoth" Enfer said.

"Thanks for trying Enfer" Rush said. Even I was grateful she tried, but I really wanted the Slakoth. Slakoth, became Slaking, and Slaking was both the strongest and one of the weakest non-legendary pokemon. I (Err, we) could work with it.

"Come on Lou" Michael said, tapping Louis on the shoulder, "Let's keep going"

"Why?"

"The Slakoth escaped" Now Michael was laughing. "The laziest pokemon on earth, and it got away from me"

"But, it didn't, it fell out of the tree and landed there" Louis said stubbornly. Michael stopped laughing, and looked like he was about to yell at Louis, when he paused, and looked up.

"What is it?" Rush asked. All three of us looked up. The branch that the Slakoth had been on, was missing. It was broken off!

"How did I not notice that?" Michael mumbled. He went over to the tree, followed by Rush and me, and got on his knees. Large roots stuck out of the ground, and obscured the base of the tree. Michael felt around, and found a hole, in between several of the roots. Reaching in, he pulled out the Slakoth.

"Fuckin' A" I laughed.

"Boy, this will be good. You're going to enjoy going with us" Michael said. The Slakoth looked at Michael, and slowly licked him up his face. "Okay" At that moment, a pokeball flew by Michael's head, and sucked up the Slakoth. All of us watched, as the pokeball shook three times, and clicked shut.

"Sorry dude" Louis said, "I'm taking this one" Michael flipped around, confused.

"What do you mean, you're taking it?" Michael asked as he stood up.

"Well, I decided I was going to, when you dropped those two pokeballs, and I picked one up. But, when I first saw the little guy, I felt this connection. We were like this" He made some kind of hand gesture, "I, I wanted to have him with me" Louis plucked the pokeball out of Michael's hand. "I'll fight you over this. I'm no trainer, but Enfer is strong"

"He's right, I'll kick both your asses" Enfer said. Michael screamed in frustration.

"Alright, alright, fine. You can have the Slakoth, if you can live with the knowledge you stole it from your cousin"

"Of course I can live with it" Louis said, releasing the Slakoth. It appeared on the ground, not sure what was going on. "Alright, I know what I'm going to name you. Your name is Louis3"

"Louis3?" Michael asked. "Don't you mean Louis the second?"

"No. When I got Enfer, I named her Louis2, but she already had a name. I still consider her Louis2, so he's Louis3. Say hi every body"

I felt like I should point out to Louis, that even I could see it was a female not male. Eh, let him figure it out him self. Louis had caught a pokemon, a disturbingly rare pokemon that became freakishly powerful pokemon. Miracles can happen. Now, we had a traveling companion, whose brain probably looked like a plate of spaghetti.

"Why are you pink?" Louis3 asked me.

Boy, this was going to be fun.


	17. The Advanteges of Floating in the Sea

****

National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help

**XVII : The Advantages of Floating in the Middle of the Sea**

I was so happy to see the sun again, after two days of walking through the forest. Oh God, the humidity. I never wanted to see the forest ever again. Michael had been unable to find another decent pokemon, although we had Wurmple coming out of our asses. The only Slakoth in the entire damn forest had her arms wrapped around Louis' neck, him wearing her like a scarf.

Me and Rush (And when I say me and Rush, I mean Rush dragging me kicking and screaming) tried to bond with Louis3, but no such luck. The Slakoth was brain dead for Christ sake! We ask her a question, she drools. We ask her name, she drools. We insult her, she drools. All we had been able to get from her was that she liked to sit and stare. That's it.

"Alright Louis3," Louis said, holding her in his arms. "I'm going to introduce you to one of the great pleasures of life"

"Louis, don't," Michael said. Louis pulled out a joint, and stuck it in L3's mouth. He sparked the doobie, and L3 instinctively took a long drag. Her eyes bulged.

"This is a bad idea," Enfer said, sighing.

"What do you mean?" Rush asked.

"Do you know what pot does to us?" We both shook our heads. "Well, you're going to find out." Louis3 did a summersault out of Louis' arms. It rushed over to me.

"Hi, I'm Louis3!" She said, grabbing my forepaw and shaking it vigorously. "I'm really happy to be a part of the Louis/Michael team!" She wasn't blinking any more. In fact, she didn't appear to be breathing any more. Slakoth can't walk on two legs, she was up right because she was vibrating. "How long have you been with Michael?"

"Uh"

"How about you?" She said, doing a back flip and landing in front of Rush. She grabbed his paw, and shook it rapidly. "How long have you been here?"

"Louis, what did you do?" Michael cried. We had stopped moving, as Louis3 kept jumping.

"Is Michael a kind master?"

"Well-"

"I guess it doesn't matter, Louis is with me. He's nice, but Enfer is weird"

"Don't get me involved," Enfer protested.

"Hey, you know what's funny?" Louis3 said, as she back-flipped over to me. "You're pink!"

"I'm less pink"

"I like pink, it's my favorite color. Well, next to black. I really like black. Black is a color you don't have to think too much about. Some colors you have to think a lot about, like blue or orange. Not black, black is fun. It's not mean like red. Red is a mean color. Some trees are mean, too. You know what's really fun?" She screamed, grabbing my face.

"Homicide?"

"All of the numbers between one and ten billion! 1-2-3-4-"

"Make her stop!" I screamed. The joint slipped from L3's lips, but before she could grab it, Michael scooped her up.

"I WANT OUT!" L3 screamed, struggling against Michael.

"Alright dude," Michael said, passing her to Louis, "You made this, you fix it!"

"Ohh, Michael's just being mean, isn't he?" Louis cooed. Grabbing L3. She laughed happily, then jumped onto his face and wrapped her arms and legs around his head. "Oh, she's so sweet!" Louis collapsed to his knees. "Uh Michael, I can't breathe!" He fell on his back.

"Crap" Michael grabbed onto L3, and started to pull. He pulled Louis up, but L3 held on tight.

"Shouldn't we help?" I asked. "Or should we watch?"

"Watch," Rush and Enfer said. Michael ended up falling over backwards, and L3 held on with her iron grip. I would assume all the time with out oxygen would give Louis brain damage, but come on, it's Louis!.

"Oh, I feeeel slooooooowwwwww..." L3 moaned, as her eyes slumped, and her mouth sagged. Most importantly, her arms and legs went limp. Michael sat back up and plucked L3 off.

"NO MORE POT!"

* * *

We finally got to the boat rental place after another hour. The boat rental place was built right off of the beach. It used to be owned by a guy named Mr. Briney, before he was bought out by a big meat and textiles conglomerate, who wanted to diversify. The conglomerate made no money, and sold it to another guy, who immediately opened two more boat rentals, one in Dewford and one in Slateport. That way you could rent a boat near Petalburg, and drop it off at Slateport.

"And the best part is dude," Louis said, "I know how to drive a boat!"

"You do?" Michael asked.

"Yeah, my father taught me how. We had this boat when I was growing up in Lillycove, and my dad would take it out all the time. He usually brought friends. Funny thing, he frequently took trash bags, and came back with none. It was really weird."

"What did your father tell you his job was?" Michael asked, wearily.

"He said he was a shoe salesman." A shoe salesman who fitted people with cement loafers, and took them on a five mile, one way, boat ride. Nothing odd about that.

Michael waited out side of the wooden building with me, Rush, Enfer, and L3 (because Louis can't stand to put his baby in a pokeball). After forty minutes, Louis came out, smiling.

"Come on dude, our boat's waiting!" Louis said, as he lead us down the dock. We came to a large white speed boat, with two gallon gas cans on board. "The boat has a minfrige on board, stocked with water and some kind of food substitute." I let out a loud Veee, and jumped against Michael's leg.

"Angel, what's the matter?" he asked, as he picked me up and got on the boat. I hate the ocean, it makes me sick. I pulled my self deep into Michael's chest, until I could feel nothing and see nothing.

"Alright dude" Louis said, "Since we have to go the speed limit, which I think it's crazy they have a speed limit for the ocean, it'll be two to three days before we get to Dewford."

"Why do they have a speed limit?"

"I'd guess so those trainers floating in the ocean can stop you for a battle"

"Dude, do you have a boating license?"

"Does it matter?"

"Should you be drinking Fuzzy Navels?"

"There is no rule about drinking and driving a boat." Oh God. "Besides, you got mad about me trying to make Cherry Bombs and driving with my knees!" Now I am going to hurl.

We had been going for maybe two hours, maybe twenty minutes. Time really flies when you have your head buried in Michaels chest as you shake uncontrollably and he tries to calm you by stroking your fur.

I tried not to think about the ocean. I tried to think about happy times, when I was human, but the only one that came to mind was when I was talking to Michael about his plan to de-code the Voynich manuscript. That wasn't a happy memory, but it was a lot better then looking at the ocean.

Suddenly, I felt the boat slow down and eventually stop. "Hey Michael, I think that guy wants to challenge you to a battle."

"Are you a trainer?" A voice from over the boat yelled. I felt Michael stand up, still stroking me.

"Yeah, I'm a trainer." I felt Michael place me on the floor of the boat. I uncurled slowly. Rush, Enfer, and L3 were asleep on the seat next to where Michael had been sitting. Lucky bastards.

I hopped onto the edge of the boat, careful to look at as little of the water as possible. The trainer was a dork in a swim cap and goggles. He was smiling and twirling a pokeball between his fingers, his body half submerged.

"Then I challenge you to a battle, one on one." The trainer swam ten feet back. "All water trainers are required to keep this on them at all times." From the pocket of his swim suit, he pulled out what looked like a rubber brown square with a rip cord. He jerked the cord and tossed the brown square. Slowly, it unfurled and inflated, until we had a floating battle field on the water.

Oh fuck. Michael looked down at me.

"Angel, can you, uh, battle?" I looked back at the rubber field, the world spinning. I wondered how on God's green earth would I be able to stand on that thing. But, I was currently at level 18, and Rush was at level 19. Fuck him being stronger then me.

"You bet your ass I can battle!" I said, jumping onto the rubber field. The field swayed, and water splashed onto it. It took me a second to get my balance, but I was able to stand, somehow. The swimmer tossed out his pokeball and a Tentacool appeared on the field. Its two tentacles thrashed around.

"I'll let you have the first move," Michael said.

"Good, in that case, Coolio, constrict!" My first thought was, _Coolio? Really? _That thought vanished as the blue squid thing propelled its self foreword and tried to grab me with its right tentacle. I jumped up and landed on its head, then jumped over its body.

"Shadow ball!" I grinned, as the ball of energy appeared in my mouth and fired at the jelly sack. Coolio was sent flying over the edge of the field and into the water with a loud splash.

"You would think that would bother me," The swimmer said, "But you would be wrong. You know why?"

"Because Tentacool is a water type," Michael said slowly. "And since the field is made of brown rubber, I can't see it"

"Oh crap." The swimmer grinned.

"Acid!" Suddenly, a stream of purple acid shot through the field, causing it to deflate under my feet. I fell backwards into the ocean. As the salt water washed over me, I began to panic. I kicked my four legs rapidly, but it did no good.

"Angel!" Michael called. I heard a loud splash in the water, my field of vision going pink. The dye is washing off I thought, laughing almost, as every thing went black.

_

* * *

_

Where am I?

I thought.

Slowly, I opened my eyes to bright sun light. I could no longer hear ocean waves crashing against the boat. Actually, I could hear cars, lots of cars, which came as no surprise, seeing as I was in a parking lot. The parking lot of a bus station. How did I know that?

I was following a short, stocky man. A man who moments earlier, had bumped into me, and called me a faggot. He had no right to do that, I was an extraordinary man, a man who could kill and feel nothing. I was an intelligent man, above the rules of the ordinary and their governments and gods.

As I passed a car, I reached out and grabbed the antenna, braking it off easily. I could see my large, muscular hand. It had harry knuckles, obviously belonging to a man. I broke the antenna off with no effort, and made almost no noise.

The man eventually stopped in front of a small gray car. I came up and prepared to put the car antenna around his neck.

"Fuck!" I screamed, "Fuck!"

"Angel?"

"Fuck! Vee Eevee!"

"Angel!" Michael cried, rubbing my furry chest, now pushing down on it. I spit out a stream of water, and stood up slowly. Oh God, my head. Michael stroked my fur and smiled. Rush, L3, Louis, and Enfer were also there, and Enfer was wet for some reason. Since I couldn't see the swimmer, I had to assume I had lost.

"Hey Michael," I whispered, before passing out.

* * *

Tagger had come to the bus terminal for two reasons. One, because the police would expect him to travel by car or Skarmory, not bus. Two, since there was a high number of travelers, it was easy to steal a suit case and pair of clothes. What he hadn't counted on was the irritating man calling him a faggot! Tagger was an extraordinary man!

Tagger decided to kill him in such a way that people wouldn't at first be able to tell. A broken neck was perfect, no blood, no wound. An antenna would work perfectly for this. Now, Tagger was about to slip the antenna around the mans neck, when he froze.

Tagger could no longer see the little man, but rather he could see a small town. A small group of buildings, and he could see a wooden sign. On the sign, _Littleroot Tow "A Town That Can't Be Shaded Any Hue". _Then Taggers vision changed again he could see a small house with a mail box. On the mail box, the numbers 217 and the name Duncan.

"Wha?" Tagger moaned, as he snapped out of the vision, accidentally dropping the antenna. The small man was alerted by this, and jumped around.

"Who the fuck are you?" Tagger locked eyes with the man.

"You have no idea how close you came to death, little man." With out another word, Tagger departed.

_Littleroot Town_ He thought, _My answers are in Littleroot Town._

* * *

A few hours later, the boat was anchored, and it was night. The night music was the simple sound of water ripples. I was curled up on Michaels chest with Rush. Enfer was on the floor, and Louis had passed out in the captains chair, L3 still tied around his neck like a scarf.

"Rush, how do you think I can thank Michael?" Rush looked up, tired.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, how can I thank him for saving me?" Rush laughed.

"Michael didn't save you. He jumped into the water, but got tangled in that rubber nightmare. Oh no, the one who saved you was Enfer."

"ENFER!" I exclaimed. Enfer was a fire type! The ocean could have been lethal! I looked at the sleeping Growlithe, confused. "She cared enough"

"To sacrifice her life, yeah, I know." Rush sat his head back down. "Don't tell her you know, okay?"

"Yeah, okay..." I mumbled. Enfer, risking her life for an Eevee who had been less then kind. I almost began to cry, but stopped myself.

"Thanks Enfer," I whispered, before falling asleep.


	18. Ms Lisa's Theme

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XVIII : Ms. Lisa's Theme**

How we met Ms. Lisa, and how she came to join us, that's an interesting story. Generally, when some one is this far along on their journey, they have already decided on who is going to be traveling with them. They rarely pick up complete strangers. Complete strangers who two members of the party have a crush on. But, we're a rather strange group.

Now, I knew Ms. Lisa, before Michael and Louis met her. Actually, I didn't know her, but I knew of her. She would come to play a very important part in my new life, I just didn't know it yet.

The day was unusually bright, the sun glaring down on us. Their were no clouds above us, so the sun was merciless on our little boat. The sea breeze blew salt on us lightly. Rush was laying on his side(He complained to me that his head and tail fin didn't let him sun bathe on his back. As I reminded him, he could look at the ocean and not black out). Enfer was staring at the ocean over the side of the boat, looking for something maybe, I don't know. L3 was tied around Louis' neck, as he drove our boat towards Dewford.

I was sitting beside Michael on the boat seat, curled up in a ball so tight, I had turned my body into a sensory-deprivation-tank. I was currently thinking that if I hadn't killed my self, I could have gone on my journey with Michael, selected Treecko and saved it from Robin, not be traveling with Louis, probably ended up with Robin's Ralts and Bagon, most importantly though, I would have had the chance to flip the drunken Duncans the bird.

Michael had pulled out my book, and was currently flipping through my section on the gym leaders of Hoenn. He was looking at the section on Brawly, and my notes on the obvious flaws in Brawly's strategy.

"Hey Louis" Michael said.

"What dude"

"Did you know that, as part of official pokemon league rules, each gym leader is required to release a report each year. The report includes what pokemon they use for battles, what level they are at, and what offensive attacks they know. These reports are collected in a record, and sent to every hall of records in Hoenn"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, did you know that Angela went into the Littleroot hall of records, took the gym leader reports, and cut them out using an x-acto knife before sticking them in her book?" Yes, I stole from the hall of records, that's not even close to the worst thing I've ever done. "She's got notes written about all of Brawly's pokemon. All of their offensive moves are fighting type. To beat this, Angela suggests we go to some cave in Dewford"

"HEY DUDE, CHECK THAT OUT!" Louis exclaimed. Louis stopped the engine of the boat, and froze us in the water. By Louis' reaction, we all looked up.

Their was a woman, floating in the ocean on the back of something large and blue. She was beautiful, the Venus in human form. She had shoulder length blond hair, scattered around her shoulders. For some reason, she had full make up and jewelry, including a pearl necklace, a diamond ankle bracelet, and small ear rings. She was wearing a copper colored dress instead of regular clothes, a column like dress, that fell straight down from her shoulder cut neck line to her ankles. On her hands were white gloves, on her stomach a large bag, no shoes on her feet, and her eyes were closed. Behind her was a Zangoose, who was wearing sunglasses. For some reason, the woman looked familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

Most of the people in our party were more curious about the dress and jewelry, considering you didn't see a woman who looked like she belonged in high society floating in the ocean. For Louis, it was different. Time froze, the ocean froze, and we all ceased to exist. It was like he had been struck by lightning, Louis was in love. It was like some bad romance story, where a guy turns to his friend and says, hey you see that girl? I'm going to marry that girl.

"Hey" Louis called to Michael. "You see that girl over there"

"Yeah" Michael replied, turning to the woman, "My lesbian sense is going wild too" Okay, maybe not the most romantic story in the world, but it was real. What happened next continues to shock me today.

"Hey" Rush said, "You see that girl over there"

"Yeah" I mumbled, as I uncurled from a ball. My fur had returned to its natural brown, but my nose was dark pink still. I was Angel, the pink nosed Eevee freak.

"That woman is going to be the mother of my offspring" I looked the woman up and down for one second, before I fell on the ground laughing. I hit the boat with a thud.

"Oh, my back"

"Are you okay?" Enfer asked.

"I'm fine" I pulled my self up, still laughing. Rush looked confused now.

"Why don't you think it would work?" I looked the Mudkip up and down.

"Well, aside from the high divorce rate in interspecies marriages" I said sarcastically, "You're a pokemon!"

"Love can cross all boundaries" The woman must have noticed our boat, as she sat up, and turned our direction.

"Excuse me, can I help you with something?" Her eyes were icy blue. Her Zangoose did not seem to like us.

"We were just wondering why such a beautiful woman was floating in the middle of the ocean" She laughed, and stood up, picking up her bag.

"I was sunbathing" She eyed our boat. "Might I assume you are on your way to Dewford?"

"You might" Louis said. "Who might you be"

"She seems familiar" Michael mumbled a little to loud. The woman turned to him, smiling.

"I know I seem familiar" She said, "As for who I am? Reading from top to bottom, Lisa Christen Jeffries" Lisa sat down, as both me and Michaels eyes bulged.

"Lisa Jeffries?!" Michael exclaimed, flipping rapidly through my book. He flipped, until he came to the section on famous trainers/former champions.

Lisa Jeffries, dubbed Ms. Lisa by the media, held the world record for fastest time beating the elite four and champion of any particular region, in her case Johto. Ms. Lisa was famous for her amazing battle style, the fact she never wore the same outfit twice, and the fact that the day she was supposed to have her ceremony to be crowned champion, she stole her prize money and vanished with out a trace. The reason I didn't recognize her, was Ms. Lisa had not been born good looking. I could guess what the prize money went into.

"You're Ms. Lisa" Michael exclaimed, "You're the champion of Johto!"

"Would be champion"

"Does this have to do with pot?" L3 asked, before falling back asleep. Louis just stared, shocked.

"You're the champion of Johto?"

"Would be champion" Lisa said. "Do you mind if I come over to your boat?"

"Not at all" Lisa smiled, and tapped twice on the blue thing she was sitting on. Slowly, a giant blue mass came out of the water, a Wailord. Lisa walked to the end of the huge beast.

"Come on Virgil" The Zangoose, Virgil, followed close behind, still not liking us. The two of them jumped off the Wailord, barely making it onto the boat. Lisa pulled a pokeball out of her bag, and turned back. "Thanks Martial" She said, recalling the Wailord.

"Hello, I'm Louis" Louis said, jumping up and trying to hide his drool. Lisa smiled, trying to hide slight disgust. She noticed L3.

"Who is this?" She asked, unwrapping L3. "A Slakoth! I love these, my favorite evolutionary line behind Lavitar. So much potential, in spite of truant"

"It looks like a lump, madam" Virgil growled.

"Hello, I'm Michael" Michael said, walking over. "I would be the trainer on this voyage of the damned" Lisa laughed at this comment.

"And, would you be the trainer of the Eevee, Mudkip, and Growlithe" Rush jumped at this comment, doing a back flip. Enfer and me couldn't have cared less.

"Well, Angel and Rush belong to me. Enfer, she's the Growlithe, belongs to Louis"

"I like to think he belongs to me" Enfer said. Lisa bent down, and began to scratch Enfer behind the ears. Unintentionally, Enfer leaned into her hand.

"Enfer seems strong" Lisa said, as she stood up.

"Um, can I ask about the Zangoose?" Michael asked, staring at the large clawed creature nervous.

"Oh Virgil? He's my most loyal pokemon, and my body guard of sorts" Lisa said.

"Madam's safety is my chief concern" Virgil said, "I am more then willing to kill any one who tries to harm her. My speed and accuracy are unmatched" Lisa moved away from Michael, and came over to me and Rush. She sat down beside us. Rush was staring at her, eyes wide, mouth open, mimicking Louis.

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all" Lisa smiled, and picked up Rush. I could hear his heart stop, as she stroked his head fin.

"So this is Rush?"

"Yeah, that's the blue blur"

"Was he your starter?"

"No, that would be Angel"

"Angel" She mumbled, setting Rush back down.

"She touched me!" Rush exclaimed, "Now I can die happy" Lisa picked me up now. Unlike Robin, she was gentle, and I never felt nervous in her hands.

"Why is Angel's nose pink?" Lisa asked. Always the damn nose.

* * *

A few hours later, Ms. Lisa was still with us, and we had sat down for dinner. The sun was down, and all lights came off of our boat. Michael, Louis, and Lisa were eating freeze dried food. Enfer and Rush were eating pokefood, and I had already been nurse. I'll be able to eat solid food in four days, and I was counting. Currently, Lisa was telling us her story.

"I had been maniacally depressed for awhile" Lisa said, "I had lost sight of what I wanted to do"

"Don't you eat?" I asked Virgil from Michael's lap.

"Their will be plenty of time to eat when I'm in hell" Fun guy.

"For the longest time, my life had been pokemon battling" Lisa shrugged. "Then, nothing!"

"Nothing?" Louis asked. "I don't understand, what do you mean nothing?"

"It was like some one flipped a switch on and off. One day it was my life, the next day, I was miserable" Lisa took a swig of water, "The problem was, this revelation came the day after I defeated the current Johto champion. I realized, I didn't want to be champion, and I needed to re-evaluate my life"

"So, you decided to run?" Michael asked. "That doesn't make sense"

"No, I figured out that not only was I unhappy, my pokemon were unhappy" She sighed. "So, I decided I was going to release them all, at the place they were captured. Let them start their own lives. Now, Martial and Virgil are the only two left, and Martial was actually born here in Hoenn"

"What about Virgil, what'll happen to him?" She laughed.

"I smashed Virgil's pokeball almost a year ago. If he were going to leave, he would have already"

"I would take a bullet for Madam" Virgil said. He was almost rigidly stiff, and to be honest, he scared me a little. Virgil seemed like some one who regularly killed other pokemon. But I'm sure they all deserved it.

"What did you decide to do with your life" Louis asked. Lisa smiled softly, and reached into her bag.

"Well, in my few years off, I wrote a book" She pulled out a leather bound book, and a second, and a third. "Then I wrote fourteen more"

"Fourteen!" Michael exclaimed, picking up the hand written book. "You wrote fourteen, and you never tried to get them published?"

"I don't know about my writing ability, and they're all hand written, so" Michael flipped open the book. "What are you doing.

"Reading. What's this one called?"

"An Apple For Ralts. Its actually the first story in a series of stories about combiomorphs"

"Combio what?"

"A combiomorph. It is a three part mix, and human and two different pokemon" Michael was filliping through the pages quickly. I looked at the pages, but they looked like scribbles to me. Damn Mew.

"That's very original" Michael said. "I don't know why your so harsh, this is very good"

"Good, then I'll take it back" Lisa said. As she tried to grab it, Michael scooted back. Louis grabbed the book, and handed it back to her. "Thank you Louis. Just out of curiosity Michael, how far did you get?"

"To chapter three. I'm telling you, it's good" Lisa smiled at this.

"It might be, but I'm my harshest critic" She said. "I suppose I should probably be headed off" Her voice implied she was unhappy.

"Hold on a second Ms. Lisa, let me talk to my associate" Louis said. He and Michael, who was holding me, walked to the other side of the ship.

"Alright dude, we have to ask Lisa to come with us" Michael nodded.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"What!"

"We don't even know her!" I agreed with Michael. If you didn't want to be champion of a region, you're out of your mind. Although I admired her, I worried she might decide to kill us while we slept. "Besides, I don't want some one else traveling with us. This can't be Michael and the idiots do Hoenn!"

"Lisa is obviously a fantastic trainer" Louis said, "Imagine what she could teach you. I'm only thinking about you Michael"

"Me, and her low cut dress"

"I'm thinking about what that would look like on the floor dude" As they discussed this, Rush and Enfer discussed something else.

"I can't let her leave" Rush said. "I've never been in love before, but I am now"

"She's a human!" Enfer said, "How can you be in love?"

"Love doesn't have a species" Rush said. "I think I've got it" He opened his mouth, and let out a wail.

"Rush, what is it?" Michael asked, jumping up and setting me down, before running over to Rush. He picked up the Mudkip, but nothing could calm him.

"I don't understand?" Lisa said, as she reached over to Rush, "What could be bothering him?" She stroked his head fin, and he instantly stopped wailing. In fact, he jumped into her arms. "Awe, Rush likes me"

"You will be mine" Rush said, nuzzling against her. "You just wait and see. We will be together" He shot a death glance to Louis, "And I have cute on my side"

"Rush has certainly warmed up to her" Louis said. Michael let out an exasperated cry.

"Alright! Ms. Lisa, we want to know if you could come with us" She seemed shocked by this.

"Come with you?"

"You must be lonely" Louis said. Lisa looked at Virgil, who nodded.

"Yeah, I think I will come with you"


	19. Saturday Night

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XIX : Saturday Night**

I remember the morning we arrived at Dewford Town, mostly for what happened after we arrived. That morning, I was still in a ball, but I no longer had my head pressed against my chest, doing that had made me sick. Rush was sitting beside me, staring at Ms. Lisa, who was on her stomach, writing in another book. Virgil was beside her, giving us all the death look. Enfer was unconscious beside him, and Michael and Louis were sitting at the front of the boat, with L3 tied around Louis' neck.

"I love her Angel" Rush said.

"No you don't"

"And she loves me" Louis said to Michael, having the exact same conversation.

"No, she doesn't"

"What do I not have?" They said in unison.

"No skills, no brains, no potential, no money, no hope, no future" We said in unison.

"Oh what do you know" Rush said to me. He sighed. "She's perfection"

"Yesterday, she told us that she didn't subscribe to the theory of gravity!"

"Lisa's intelligent"

"The only thing she brought on her journey were 17 books, a feather boa, and her bag. Her bag, that she told us, belonged to the Son of Sam! She may be intelligent, but she's out of her mind"

"Lisa is not"

"And Virgil, he's definitely insane"

"Okay, I agree with you there" Rush said. "I feel like he's"

"Going to get up in the middle of the night and kill you?"

"Exactly!"

"Michael, I'm serious" Louis said, "I would do any thing for her"

"Like what"

"Well, I would give up weed and booze" Michael fell out of his seat, and L3 fell twenty seconds later (It takes twenty seconds for L3 to register a ten word or less sentence. Anything longer, there is no hope"

"No pot?" L3 cried. "What would I do with out the magic honey suckle! I wouldn't be able to live with my self" Michael notice her, picked her up, and tied her back around Louis' neck before sitting down.

"Their isn't a chance Lou, you can't give up controlled substances" Michael said. "You're practically made of weed and booze. Some one could stick a needle in your arm, and give your blood on tap!"

"And I would give it all up" He sighed.

As the two of them shut up, I looked around at my little group of morons, and wondered, like I did every other day, how did I end up here? Then I turned to Enfer. Still couldn't say a thing to her, but I knew I would have to ask eventually. It was eating away at me, why on earth would Enfer save me? Ugh, I almost wish I had died, so I wouldn't have to thank her. I would willingly except second death, just not to have that conversation.

It boggles the mind. Enfer, being a fire type, would die if in water for long enough. Fire type don't learn how to swim naturally. So not just why, but how did she save me?

God, it was confusing.

* * *

An hour later, we arrived finally at the dock at Dewford. Louis had had to reserve a place for our boat before we left Petalburg, so we were docked fast. Michael had to get me off the boat, since I held my body so rigid I couldn't move.

"Why are you scared of the water?" Virgil asked me.

"I have reasons"

"What ever freak" Yeah, like he's one to talk.

The streets of the small town were swept with sand, which was being violently whipped up by the heavy winds. Their were no large buildings, and all of them were brown with tile or sand. No people were out on the streets, all of those things should have sent up warning signals.

"You rented a hotel room that wasn't a brothel this time, right?" Michael asked.

"Wait, you rented one in a brothel?" Lisa let off a laugh. "That should surprise me, but it doesn't"

"Yeah, well I got us to rooms" He shot a nervous glance at Lisa. "It's the only hotel in Dewford, the Ocean Inn"

The Ocean Inn, which was no where near the ocean, was a one story building that some one had painted pink. Who ever did that should have been shot, but I wasn't happy with the color pink right now. The hall ways were all painted a mono-tone ocean blue, with seashells and starfish glued to the walls. I couldn't open my eyes as we walked, for fear of getting sea sick.

"What's wrong with you?" I heard Enfer ask.

"I hate the ocean"

"We're not in the ocean"

"Yeah, well they forgot to tell the hotel" I moaned. Our small group arrived at a pair of doors across from each other.

"Well, I only have two rooms" Louis said, staring/drooling at Lisa and holding two key cards, "So two of us will have to share a room"

"That's not going to work cheater!" Rush screamed. Wow, Rush was almost mad, but he still came off looking cute.

"I know" Lisa said, grabbing one of the cards, "I'm sure you and Michael will be happy together"

"Uh, Lisa"

"You loose, get lost dipshit" Virgil said, following Lisa into her room.

"We're heading out to Granite Cave, be ready in an hour" Michael said.

"Can do" The rest of us went into Michaels room. The walls were like the hall, painted like the ocean, including ocean waves! The carpet though, was colored like sand, and made a gritty noise as you walked on it. Luckily, their were two beds, both sand colored.

"Alright, now according to Angela's book" Michael read, as he dropped his bag on the far bed, me and Rush jumping up beside it, "Every move that Brawly knows that deal damage are fighting type moves"

"So what dude?" Louis asked, as he flipped L3 around to his chest, before flopping onto the bed. Enfer decided to join us on Michaels bed, as Louis pulled out a joint and lit up. L3 reached for it, but Louis moved her hand away. "Sorry, pot's not for you baby"

"GIMMIE" L3 screamed, as she lunged at Louis with a speed never before seen. Louis let out a yell as he and L3 fell on the ground, wrestling over the doobie.

"Well" Michael continued, not noticing Louis and L3, "In Granite Cave are several pokemon, one common one is the pokemon Sableye"

"Dude, I'm getting mauled!"

"Anyways, since it's part ghost type, it's immune it fighting type. All of the damage dealing moves in Brawly's gym are fighting type, to Sableye would literally take no damage"

"I'm getting killed!" Michael shut my book.

"I don't know if that's what I want to do" Michael said, "I mean, I want a pokemon that'll be better long term. Sableye, not so much"

"Please daddy, the pot"L3 cried. Now, since L3 was a Slakoth, her ability was truant. Truant allowed a pokemon to attack for one minute, and then do nothing for one minute. And one minute ended as L3 went limp on top of Louis. Michael noticed him for the first time.

"Dude, it looks like some one clawed your shirt to ribbons" Louis took the unlit doobie, and proceeded to eat it. "What on earth are you doing?"

"Need pot, and I can't get it with L3" Louis said, before passing out from exhaustion.

"A bit of warning" Lisa said, as we walked towards the giant hole that was the entrance to Granite Cave, "Even though the cave is called Granite cave, the walls and ground are partially made of shell rock, in some places completely. It can collapse easy, so be careful"

"Have you ever been to Granite Cave before?" Michael asked.

"Yeah, once. We came here to find evolutionary stones, this place has all evolutionary stones in it. Hell, you two can both grab a few, in case you ever want to evolve Angel, or if you want to evolve Enfer, Louis"

"I'd melt his genitals off before he got near me" Enfer said, as the irony fairy could be seen in the distance. The eight of us entered the dark cave. The entire place was dank, and you could hear the steady drip of water every where. The ceiling rose twenty feet above us, and several large rock ledges jutted out of the walls above us.

"I knew we would have to check these out, so I bought these in Rustboro" Michael said, as he pulled out two flashlights. He kept one, and after some debate, handed one to Lisa.

"Are we going to split up?"

"Isn't that what happens in movies, before people start getting killed" Michael said. "Now, most of the pokemon in this cave are on the lower regions, so Lisa, can you lead us to some of the lower areas"

"No problem" Lisa took the lead, and we followed, walking in pairs of two. Louis walked beside her, followed by Virgil, and noticed she still was barefoot.

"Don't you have any shoes?" Lisa laughed.

"How can you feel the grass under your feet if you wear shoes?"

"I agree" Rush chirped from behind me.

"Oh shut up, you love struck moron" I snarled. Beside me walked Enfer. She didn't make eye contact with me, and it was eating away at me. I couldn't help it, I was beginning to obsesses, how can you go from saving some ones life, to ignoring them?!

"E-Enfer" I choked, trying to control my tongue and not start shouting. She looked over at me, as if noticing me for the first time. We finally got to the entrance of a very steep tunnel, and started heading down. The ground was loose, so we had to walk carefully.

"Yes Angel?"

"Why, why did you save my life" I stammered. I don't know why this was so hard to ask.

"You were drowning, Michael was tangled, Rush was unconscious, and Louis was Louis" She shrugged. "I had to do it"

"No, that's not true" I said. "Michael would have easily gotten untangled, and I wasn't going to drown that quickly. Plus, you're a fire type, water is more dangerous to you then to me"

"Alright Angel, I did it, because I care" Enfer said. My mouth dropped.

"Y-you care?"

"Yes Angel. I know how much you are terrified of the ocean" Enfer said, "I wasn't thinking about you drowning, I was thinking of how scared you were. I've experienced some very traumatic things in my life, I didn't want you to be haunted by this"

"What traumatic things?" She let out a shaky laugh.

"Well, Louis wasn't my original owner. His father said he got me from a breeding center, that was a load of shit. Joseph found me on a street corner, shortly after I escaped from my master, an evil monster"

"A monster?" I asked, as the memories of my vision flooded my mind. "What was his name?"

_I suppose it doesn't hurt to tell her_ Enfer thought, "His name was Jerry Tagger. My mother had belonged to him, but he killed her. My father, I don't know. From the day I was born, he wanted me to be stronger, faster, more intelligent then any other Growlithe" Now she was beginning to cry. "The day after I learned how to walk, Tagger decided I needed to learn how to swim. He dropped me in a pool, and the water, oh God" Enfer's body began to shake as she sobbed.

"You only told her half the story" Rush mumbled, although I didn't hear this.

"Enfer" My mind was blank. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked"

"It's okay" Enfer replied, looking up and smiling. "It actually feels good to tell you"

"Boy this tunnel is steep" Louis complained.

"Yeah, we're headed to the bottom caverns" Lisa said.

"The very bottom?" Michael asked, "Aren't their good pokemon else where?"

"The widest verity are on the bottom" Louis took one step, and the ground shifted under him. As he began to fall, Louis tried to grab the nearest thing, and his hand accidentally (purposely), tried to grab Ms. Lisa's boob. Virgil shot out and slashed at his hand though, before it made contact, and he instead flipped three times, causing several rocks to fall on him. He finally stopped, landing on his back, his nose bleeding.

"Louis, are you okay?" Louis noticed two of the rocks he had landed on were colored.

"Yeah, I'm fine" He picked them up, one a sunrise green, and one orange with a flame image in the center. "Hey, I think I've got a pair of those evolving stones"

"Let's see" Lisa turned the flashlight on him, as we approached. "Well, the one in your left hand is a dawn stone. And the one in your right is" Louis' hand began to smoke.

"It's HOT!" He cried, tossing it. The stone flew over Lisa's head, over Virgil, and struck Enfer square between the eyes. She began to glow.

"Oh crap" I moaned. Enfer glowed, until she was little more then an outline. The first thing I noticed was she was growing, to over six feet tall. A main of fur, that looked like flames, erupted around her head, along with a tail that looked like a flame. Large tuffs of fur appeared on her legs, as the glowing faded.

"Wow" Louis said, honestly shocked. Even L3 seemed surprised. Enfer, she looked powerful. No longer a Growlithe, she was an Arcanine, and seemed to be radiating energy.

"I feel sick" She whispered, before passing out.

While we were in the cave, it began to rain out side. The people of Dewford crawled into basements, and windowless rooms, as heavy waves crashed onto the beach. Storm coming.

"Enfer, wake up" Louis cried, desperately shaking the unconscious Arcanine. Enfer's head was spinning like a paint mixer, and when she opened her eyes she saw three of Louis. To all of our surprise, he was crying.

"I evolved?" She asked, almost unsure. "Louis, I'm going to kill"

"Thank God" He grabbed her in a deep hug, crying into the fur around her neck. Enfer turned to me, a look on her face asking WTF? Louis pulled up after what seemed like an eternity. "When you passed out, I didn't know what to think"

"Why are you crying?" Michael asked.

"Enfer was my first pokemon" Louis said, "She came to me, right after my mother ran off. I thought she was hurt" He began crying again, and even Enfer's anger washed away. She nudged him, and licked him across the face.

"Eh, you didn't mean to do it" Enfer said. "Boy, now how do I get used to being this large?"

"Louis, will you be okay?" Lisa asked, "Are you ready to go, or do you need a minute?"

"You guys go on, we'll be along in a minute. Oh wait! Michael, you might want this" Louis tossed the dawn stone to him.

"Why, I don't have a Ralts, or a Snorunt"

"Eh, take it anyways" Michael shrugged, before dropping the stone in the bag. The group, minus three members, headed off.

* * *

"Hey Michael" Lisa said, "Why didn't you evolve Rush?"

"I wanted to. I had pulled out my pokedex to get information on Marshtomp, when Angel shot the pokedex out of my hand with a shadow ball. Then, she pressed that little button that send out those waves that can stop a pokemon from evolving"

"Angel knew to do that!" Lisa exclaimed. She looked down at me, somewhat perplexed "Just our of curiosity, why does she have a pink nose"

"Again with the nose"

"You look cute" Rush said. "Hey, if I paint my nose pink, do you think I'll have a chance with her?"

"I think you'll look like an idiot" I replied.

"One question at a time" Michael said, laughing a little. "As it turns out, Rush didn't want to evolve, I figured that with how happy he got. Angel just wanted to help her friend" Virgil now turned to me.

"You did that for Rush?"

"Yeah" I snapped, "Got a problem"

"You put Rush's needs in front of yours" He turned back around. "I respect that" Stupid mysterious, named after a poet Zangoose. Finally, we came out of the tunnel, into a huge cavern, larger then the one in the entrance to the cave. The cavern was filled, with Zubat, Abra, Geodude, Nosepass, and a few Sableye. What was odd, was that none of them were on the ground. They were on the walls, sitting on the stone ledges that jutted out of the walls, or clinging to the ceiling. Pokemon can sense these things, it was another warning sign I didn't notice. How could I, the only pokemon I had there were Rush (A water type, what's a storm going to do to him), and Virgil (Robot).

"There are plenty of pokemon here, what do you want to capture?" Michael thought about it.

"Do you believe in destiny?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do"

"Well, I don't believe any pokemon I capture is captured by chance. I was meant to capture them. When I see the right pokemon, it'll just scream out this was meant to happen" And as Michael spoke those words, one lone Aron appeared.

"Uh, where is every body?" The iron armor pokemon asked, I take a small, six day nap, and every one vanishes" Since Aron's skull plate bends all the way around, Aron can't look all the way up. So, even if we could tell him that all of the others were above him, he would never be able to see it him self.

"That's it" Michael said. "I need to capture that Aron"

"You're kidding me!" Lisa exclaimed. "You do know that Aron are quadruple weak against two types, and one of them is fighting, the type of pokemon Brawly trains"

"I don't care" Michael said. "I have to catch it" Now, Steel type is my second favorite type, one of the three types I consider mine. Steel type will always be known for their utterly fantastic defense, and the fact that one of they are weak to fire type (a type that shows up all to frequently on peoples teams). Now, while my preferred steel types are Steelix, Skarmory, Metagross, Empoleon (Piplup is my second favorite starter), and Lucario, I'm not anti-Aron/Aggron. Aggron's armor is thick enough to deflect an atomic shell. Despite this, Steelix has a higher defense (with the highest defense going to the one trick pain in the ass, Shuckle), and I would rather use Steelix. Aggron also has two quadruple weaknesses, and you already know how I feel about those. But, it is neutral to fire. Also, it is quadruple resistant to two types, so that's good.

"Humans!" The Aron exclaimed, seeing us. "That's okay, you're strong, you can take them, you can" He made eye contact with me. "Hello chicky-mama" Dear God, please tell me he did not say that.

"Are you speaking to me?"

"Yeah" The Aron continued. I think it was grinning, but who can honestly tell? "What do you say, you and me, find a secluded spot and" I bent over, and used all of my energy not to throw up, as he finished his sentence. As I wheezed, I turned to Rush.

"Steel type are neutral to water, and rock type are weak. Go clean is clock"

"Can do!"

"Rush, you're up" Michael said. Rush let out a Kip!, and bounded in front happily.

"I'm gonna kick your ass" Rush said in a sing-song voice.

"Do you want the uh, cute Eevee chick?"

"Eevee chick!" I screamed, "If Rush doesn't kill you, I will"

"Rush, water gun" Rush fired a stream of water right at the tiny pervert. Even though Aron are slow, he and Rush were probably matched in speed, and he dogged with ease. He then turned, and charged at Rush, head extended.

"Avoid" Rush jumped, and flipped easily over the Aron. The Aron tried to stop, but ended up slamming into a stalagmite. As Aron did this, rain poured into the entrance of the cave, which began to flood due to heave ocean waves.

"Where am I?" He asked. The Aron had ended up on his back, rock belly exposed. Rush fired another water gun, and it was all over. Aron curled up in pain, as Michael tossed the pokeball. "Awe fuck" The pokeball sucked Aron up, shook twice, before clicking shut. Michael smiled, walked over and picked up the ball.

"So, what are you going to name this conquest?" Lisa asked.

"Titan"

"Titan? Why on earth?" Michael laughed. I was with Lisa (and with Rush), why Titan?

"I believe that in several ways, Aron is like a pokemon representation of a human. They start off as something small, not that strong, but look at all the potential they have! They can become this giant hulking monstrosity!"

"You could make the same argument for Charmander, Larvitar, Treecko, Bagon"

"Yeah, well I like the name, and I'm keeping it"

"WATER" Louis screamed, as he, Enfer, and a barely conscious L3 rushed into the room. They were followed very closely behind by a wall of water. It wasn't the only one though, their were three other entrances, and they were flooding two.

"SHIT" Michael scooped me and Rush up, as the four waves collapsed. Water filled the cavern, rising all the way to Virgil's chin, three feet of water.

"The cavern can't flood" Lisa said, "The ceiling is to high. But another wave and it won't matter, because we'll all drown" She hefted Virgil onto her back. "Come on, there are a bunch of ledges, we can wait out the flooding on one of them"

"How do you know we'll be safe"

"These ledges were carved by pokemon. This isn't the first time this place has flooded would be my guess, so this place must also have a natural drainage system"

"Why is it flooding?" Louis asked.

"We saw storm clouds, this is the storm" We waded to the other side of the cavern, where about seven feet above us, was a large ledge. By some grace of God, it was unoccupied! Virgil jumped off of Lisa's back, and onto the ledge. "Okay, Michael, you next"

"You're the tallest, you go next." Lisa grimaced, and nodded.

"Louis, help me up" Louis hefted her onto his shoulders, and for the first time, he didn't look turned on. Rush didn't look jealous, he looked scared.

"Can you hear that?" He asked me.

"Hear what?"

"Rumbling" Actually, I could. Enfer took a running jump, and landed on the ledge with little difficulty.

"Alright dude, now you" Louis said.

"I'm holding Rush and Angel. You go up first, I'll hand you them, and then I'll go up"

"Are you sure?" The rumbling got louder.

"Yes, now go" Louis grabbed Lisa's arm, and she hefted him onto the ledge. Michael handed them Rush, and then handed them me.

"Alright, now you" Louis grabbed Michael's hands, and began to pull him up, as another set of waves rushed into the cavern.

"SHIT" Michael's hand slipped, and he fell back into the flood, before being swept under the water by the wave.


	20. Sunday

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XX : Sunday**

Now, although this story is very important, it has nothing to do with me. This story has to do with Rush, and as such, I will turn over narrative duties to him. At least for this chapter…

* * *

Time froze for me, everything froze in place, as Michael was swept beneath the waves. It almost didn't seem real, Michael couldn't have been pulled under the water. I waited for him to stand up out of the torrent. To say, "It's alright Rush".

I would never leave you.

Two trainers. I have had two trainers in my life. I loved both, even though one did not deserve love. I suppose I still loved him, because I could never hate any one. No matter how hard I tried. Call me a child, I don't care, I look at the world with the view that every one needs to be loved.

I have always believed that humans all secretly hunger for love. I know that's what Angela so desperately wants, she wants to be loved as much as she hates her self. Enfer asked once, how can I love every one, when few loved me? When my first master had hated me so much? I still don't have an answer.

Now where was I? Oh right, Michael fell in the water. I was vaguely aware of Louis and Lisa both running and jumping into the water, and I knew I was following them. Angel tried to run, but Enfer bit her on the tail and held her still. Angel can't swim.

Angel wasn't panicking on the outside, she can hide it very well. I suppose that's why no one saw the pain when she killed her self. Oh yes, I know, she told me she broke her neck, and that was what killed her. I never believed that for a second, and I figured it out by her eyes. The way she looked with so much longing at Michael, the envy when she looked at other humans, the hatred when she looked at that sweet Robin girl. You can hide emotion everywhere, but your eyes.

Angel is probably my best friend, but I didn't want her going in. I barely wanted my self going in, but I suddenly found my self flying through the air, and crashing into the water. The water wasn't as rough as I thought it would be, but it still wasn't easy to move. Louis and Ms. Lisa took deep breaths, before dropping under the water. I could breathe under the water with limited success, so I followed suit.

The water was inky black, and my little body had to fight not to be thrown around like a rag doll. I felt Ms. Lisa and Louis re-surface.

"Michael has his flashlight" Louis said, "We need to look for that" They dropped again.

I couldn't see any thing, until in the distance I saw something like a dull yellow. I almost choked on water, it was Michael! But he wasn't moving As Lisa and Louis resurfaced for air, I followed them.

"Kip! Kip! Kip!" I understand that's what humans hear. It's really weird, but it got both their attention.

"Rush, what is it" Ms. Lisa asked. I took off, the fin on my head sticking out of the water, allowing both Louis and Ms. Lisa to follow. Amazingly, they were able to keep up. We swam desperately through the chop, until we came to a large pointy rock, sticking out of the water.

"Be alright Michael" Louis whispered, as they dropped under the surface. All I could see of Michael was an out line, caused by the flashlight clenched in his floating arm. The flash light was swinging back and forth, and it swept over his face. His eyes were closed, and he wasn't breathing.

Louis and Lisa grabbed him and the arm, and pulled him away from the rock. As they pulled his head above the surface, Michael still didn't move. Blood trickled from a cut in his forehead, probably from being slammed into that rock. They dragged him along, and I followed, the entire time begging for Michael to be okay.

"Come on Michael" Louis said through gritted teeth, as we got back to the ledge. Louis and Ms. Lisa hefted Michael up, and Enfer dragged him onto the ledge. I felt some one scoop me up, "Okay Rush, your next" and toss me onto the ledge. I landed on my head fin, which hurt a lot.

"Angel, where are you?" I asked, as I flipped back over. Angel was on Michael's chest, jumping up and down with gusto, while Virgil watched.

"Wake up Michael" Angel yelled, as tears rolled down her muzzle. "Wake up, wake up, wake up" By now, Enfer had pulled Louis and Ms. Lisa up, and Louis pulled Angel off of Michael's chest. Lisa bent down, and began blowing air in his mouth.

"Come on, breathe" She said, as she pushed his chest. Michael remained limp. Ms. Lisa did the same thing again, to the same result. Nothing was helping, so now it was my turn to try something.

I ran and jumped on Michael's face. Before Ms. Lisa could do anything, I placed my mouth on his, and started to suck. I don't know much about the human body, but I know if they have water in their lungs (don't ask how I know what lungs are), they will die. So, I did the only thing I could, I sucked. I sucked all of the water out of his lungs, until nothing came out any more.

"Alright, try again" I said, as I collapsed on my back. Ms. Lisa bent over, and began to blow into Michael's lungs. But this time it was different. As Ms. Lisa pumped on his chest, Michael's eyes shot open. He took a deep, gasping breath. And he sat up.

"Hey guys" Michael said, dazed. "Uh, what happened?" I laughed, before I passed out from exhaustion. As I passed out, I dreamed. I dreamed of death.

* * *

I didn't use to have nightmares. When I was young, I didn't even have dreams. I doubt their is a word for what I had. But after my first trainer, I had nightmares, that haunt me every day. Then Ms. Lisa came into my life.

Her smiling face filled my night, and my dreams were of her. Spending time with her, planning our life together, proof that love doesn't have a species. But when I passed out, I didn't see her. I saw him, and I saw the weeks leading up to when I was captured…

Somewhere in Hoenn, years earlier

"You're pathetic" Issan said to me, before knocking my head back in the mud. Issan's name meant "Comforter". Boy, his parents really botched it when they named it.

"I'm strong enough" I growled, as I attempted to stand up. Issan slammed my head back in the mud though. Jerk. He was convinced that because he had evolved into Marshtomp, he was unbeatable. The thing was, to keep this illusion alive, he had to battle Mudkip, especially ones who didn't want to fight.

Like me.

I was not a fighter, and I didn't pretend to be one. I wasn't much of any thing. I didn't like to fight, because I could hurt some one, and I really didn't want to hurt any one. But life doesn't work that way, in my clan, if you were challenged to battle, you had to except.

Their were only three rules. The battle rule, do not talk to the other two clans in the area (not Mudkip), and if captured, never return. If you were captured, and returned, you could lead a human to the rest of us. It was better to be captured, then have every one get captured.

"If you had any skill" Issan laughed, "You would have evolved by now" I stood up, and this time wasn't knocked into the mud.

"A Mudkip can be just as strong a Marshtomp" I said. In our clan, their were lots of Mudkip, a few Marshtomp, and two Swampert who guarded us, Yumma and Yamma. Their names meant the same thing, protector. Yumma and Yamma aren't names, just titles, given to the only two Swampert in our clan. Their was a good chance Issan would be one some day. If he was, I would support him, though God knows why.

"No, it can't"

"I could be as strong as a Swampert" I protested.

"No, you couldn't" He sneered. "You're weak, and you'll always be weak" The sad part was, I believed him.

"Why are you depressed?" The much older Mudkip asked me, as I sat on a river bank, staring at my reflection

"Hello mama" I said. She came beside me, and nuzzled the side of my head.

"Issan?"  
"You know me well" I said.

"Do you know why we show love to him anyways"

"Because we're idiots?" She laughed.

"Because, Issan makes you miserable, because he's miserable" She said. "We love him in spite of this. We love every person who hurts us, every person who makes us miserable"

"Why?"

"Every one deserves to have one Mudkip love them" She said. "No matter how terrible they are" I smiled at this.

"Yeah, you're right"

* * *

I woke that night, when the moon was high above me. We slept in the high grass, on the edge of the water. In the darkness, I could see my mothers out line. I couldn't sleep, so I decided to go for a walk, what I always did when I couldn't sleep.

I walked away from the clan and the river, to a small hill that over looked our group. Sitting on a large rock, I stared at the moon. The moon is beautiful, and mysterious. No pokemon has ever gone to the moon, with the exception of a few legendaries. I wonder what it was like up there, staring down at the word.

My head snapped up, as I heard a noise like a foot step. I turned around, to see a red light consume me.

In a pokeball, you never think. Being in a pokeball is horrible, like some kind of perpetual out-of-body experience. Had I known what was coming, I would have enjoyed it.

Being taking out of a pokeball, it's like being yanked through a small hole. When I re-appeared, I had a terrible head ache. It was light out, and in front of me stood two men in red plaid shirts. The bigger man held my pokeball. I was captured, and he was my master. If nothing else, I must love him.

"Kip!" I said faux-happy, standing up and greeting my new master.

"What the hell are we supposed to do with this thing?" Little Red asked.

"You said Mudkip sell for big money"

"Lots of Mudkips. Not one" Little Red sighed. "Oh well, let's train him"

* * *

My first day there, I slept in a wire mesh cage. For food, I got some kind of pellet, and dirty water. The next day, I was jerked out of my cage by Big Red, and taken to the basement of their house.

"It's time to earn you keep" Big Red said, as he tossed me onto the dirty cement floor. In front of me, was Little Red, and in front of him was a Mightyena.

"Yena, take down"

"Kip, avoid" Yena rushed at me, jaws open, attempting to slam it's bulk into me. I screamed, as I jumped out of the way. It skidded to a stop, and turned to me, as Little Red ordered dark pulse. This one I didn't avoid.

"You fucked up Kip" Big Red growled. "So now you have to pay" In one hand, he held a nail, and in the other a small lighter or torch of some kind. I had a mouth guard in my mouth, and I was tied to my cage with wire. My tail was facing out. I wondered why. I couldn't see Big Red heat the tip of the nail, until it glowed white. But I felt him press it against my tail fin.

And I screamed.

* * *

A few weeks later, I had lost complete track of the passage of time. Big Red had burned me several times, but those burns were healing. Only one had scarred. The one on my tail had scarred. It caused my tail to look forked. I cried when I looked at it. But, it wasn't the only thing that hurt me.

I had never beaten Yena, not once. I didn't expect to, I wasn't a fighter. What worried me, was Big and Little Red might not see the value of me any more. Then, they might actually hurt me. As much pain as they put me through, I didn't hate them.

"He's worthless" Little Red said.

"I know, but what do I do with him" Big Red replied, "I didn't even want him. Maybe we should feed him to Yena" My heart dropped. I started to cry, I didn't want to die. Little Red's eyes bulged.

"I've got an idea" He said, as he ran out of the room. When he returned, Little Red was holding a syringe. I screamed, and backed to the edge of my cage, but Little Red was able to grab me and prick me.

When I woke up, my first thought was I was with God. I had died, and now was in heaven, and heaven smelled like old fish. It took me a moment to realize I was in my cage, that sat on Big and Little's kitchen table. The door to my cage was swinging open.

My cage was open. Sitting beside my cage was my pokeball. I didn't think twice, I ran out of the cage, and fired a water gun at the pokeball, slamming it against the floor, and smashing it. As long as that pokeball existed, I would always feel like half a pokemon.

I ran, as fast as my legs would carry me. They didn't have a front door, they had a screen door with one panel ripped. I jumped at the rip, and was on the out side. I could see trees, and high grass. I knew where I was! I was only a few miles from the clan, the river. I was almost home.

"Guys, I'm here" I screamed, tears streaming down my face, as I ran. "I'm here" Shadows appeared from the tall grass, some small, and two large. A Marshtomp out line walked up to me.

"I-it can't be"

"Issan, it's me" I cried. "I never thought I would be happy to see you"

"You idiot" Issan exclaimed, "You came back. What if humans followed?"

"They couldn't have, no one was there as I" Lights suddenly flooded the area, as a pick-up truck drove up with flood lights on top. The lights swept over me, and Issan. The truck stopped, and Little and Big got out.

"See, I told you an tracking chip you could inject was a good idea" Little Red said, "You were this close to this nice of a haul, and you only captured one Mudkip?"

"It was dark, sue me" Big Red replied. They had about a dozen pokeballs clipped around their waists. I took a step back from fear, and stepped into something big. Looking up, there were Yumma and Yamma.

"Don't worry child" Yamma said.

"We will protect you"

"Swampert don't sell, what do we do with them"

"That's why we brought these" Little Red said, taking a wooden/metal stick that was strapped to his back, Big Red doing the same. They aimed at Yumma and Yamma, and fired.

Yumma and Yamma collapsed, as blood and brain matter exploded out of their skulls like confetti. Then panic inside. Every Mudkip ran, the few Marshtomp were shot in the head like Yumma and Yamma. Big and Little walked through the grass, capturing brothers and sisters, friends left and right.

"We're out of pokeballs" Little Red shrugged.

"We've got enough, let's go" As their truck drove away, all of the remaining Mudkip gathered around me, and the only Marshtomp, Issan.

"Look what you did"

"I'm sorry" I cried, "It was an accident"

"You lead them here"

"All I did was escape, it wasn't supposed to end up this way" But these words fell on deaf ears. Issan was the highest evolved creature here, and as such, was the new Yumma.

"Your sentence is banishment" My heart went cold.

"No"

"Leave immediately"

"No"

"Or else we will be forced to execute you"

"NOOOOOO!"

"Rush!"

"Kiiiiiiip"

"Rush!" Michael yelled, as I snapped back to reality. I was hyperventilating, gasping for air, and shaking so hard Michael had to press me against his body to calm me down. Louis, Ms. Lisa, Enfer, and Angel all looked concerned. I must have been screaming pretty loud. Michael gingerly stroked my head, trying to figure out why I had been screaming.

"What happened to you?" Angel asked.

"You don't want to know"

"Is Rush going to be okay?" Ms. Lisa asked. Looking at her face, I smiled. Yeah, I'd be fine.

* * *

When I woke up, the water had dropped low enough for us to walk out. I was so grateful to get off the ledge, not as grateful as Angel of course, who was complaining about something. But I did what I always did, made a joke, acted cheerful, trying to make her smile. I think I succeeded.

The ground was so muddy, Ms. Lisa's dress got ripped at the knees, because the bottom of it got stuck in the mud. The tunnel dripped water, almost like it was raining inside, and the ground was very slick. It took forty minutes according to Angel, to get all the way up the tunnel. Some how, we made it into the main chamber, and we stumbled back out of the cave. We were free!

The town inhabitants were out and about, all having crawled out of their houses after the terrible storm. As bad as our small band looked, no body noticed us. Louis, Michael, and Ms. Lisa didn't speak, as we came to the pink hotel we had been staying in. I liked this hotel, it reminded me of the ocean.

"I forgot my key-card" Michael said, as we came to our room. Ms. Lisa walked over to a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall, and pulled it off. She slammed it against the door, until it broke.

"Doors open" She said, as we stepped over the door shards. Louis would never protest, and the rest of us were too tired to protest. I jumped on Michaels bed, followed by Angel and Michael who was holding Titan's pokeball, while Enfer, Virgil, L3, and Ms. Lisa collapsed on Louis'. Louis used a small key to open the mini-fridge. He pulled out a green glass bottle, and three tube shaped glasses.

"Champagne?" Michael asked, "Why on earth are you holding a bottle of champagne?"

"I bought it for when you beat Brawly" Louis said, "But this seems like a special occasion. We survived death"

"Lou, I can't drink"

"You're drinking this if I have to pour it down your throat" Louis growled.

"Speaking of surviving death" Ms. Lisa said, "What was it like? You weren't with us for a couple of minutes, what did you see?"

"I expected to see God, or Angela" Michael said, as Louis handed him a glass of bubbly, shiny liquid. "But what I did see didn't make any sense"

"What did you see?" Lisa asked, as Louis handed her a glass, before sitting down.

"I saw a Meowth!" Michael exclaimed. Angel's head jerked up. "It said 'Hey Bro', but it couldn't say any thing else before I woke up" He scratched his head. "Actually, it looked a lot like the Meowth my family had as a pet, that died when I was eight. I don't understand"

"It doesn't matter dude" Louis said, "You survived death! That's awesome! Now, it's a brand new day" He held up his glass, "To a brand new day"

"Here here" They toasted, before Louis and Ms. Lisa knocked their drinks back. Michael sighed, and did the same. What I didn't know was, as they toasted a brand new day, some one was experiencing their last day.

Only Angel knew, that in Littleroot Town, two people were experiencing their last days on earth, and their was nothing we could do about it.


	21. Assassin

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help**

**XXI : Assassin**

It was supposed to be an ordinary day, a day where nothing happened. Michael was taking a day off for some training and general rest after the events of Saturday and Sunday. I wanted to spend all day, lying on my side, passed out unconscious. But life, and especially my life, never works that way. Oh no, today was the day life was going to kick me in the sprouts (which I know isn't a good metaphor since I'm a girl, well bite me), and the supernatural was going to help! Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

* * *

"Morning" Michael whispered to me, as he maneuvered me and Rush off of his chest. He sat up, and flipped the lamp beside him on, jarring Lisa, Louis, and the rest awake.

"Is it morning already?" Lisa asked, groaning as she sat up.

"It's Monday" Michael said, "You slept through Sunday" Lisa looked around, to see Virgil and Enfer on top of her. She seemed confused.

"Why am I in your room?"

"The hotel people got pissed that you broke down the door" Michael said, "So they took all of the money for your room to fix it"

"So I'm sleeping in your room?" Lisa asked. She moved out from under Enfer and Virgil, and stepped on Louis as she got out of bed.

"Yeah, and I'm on the floor" Louis groaned, as Lisa stepped on him, before heading to the bathroom. Michael laughed, and grabbed Titan's pokeball.

"You know, you guys haven't gotten the chance to see Titan" Michael said, as he released the Aron from his pokeball. Titan appeared on the bed, before sinking into the mattress, until only his head was exposed.

"Aron weigh 130 pounds" Lisa called from the bathroom, "And all of the weight is concentrated in one area, its like a 130 pound iron ball"

"I'm trapped, I'm trapped" Titan cried.

"Should we help?" Rush asked.

"Nah, let's watch instead" Michael attempted to reach into the mattress, and scoop Titan out, but it's still 130 pounds.

"Don't worry, I'll help you" Michael groaned, as he bent backward pulling on the Aron.

"This is all your fault" Titan's head cried, "You and your red and white death sphere" Michael let out a cry as his fingers slipped, and he was tossed off the bed.

* * *

It took another 34 minutes to pull Titan out of the bed, and it didn't end there. Titan was pulled out with the force of a cork popping out of a champagne bottle. Titan then flew through the air and hit the wall, getting his skull lodged in the plaster. Another six minutes to pull him out of the wall, and smash the lamp in our room.

Well, that last blunder one us a free camping trip on the beach, after the Ocean View kicked us out. Now, we were on the empty beach, staring at the ocean.

"If you were omnipotent for a day, what would you do?" Louis asked.

"This is how we're going to spend the rest of our day?" Michael asked. "Thinking of stupid questions?"

"Aren't you supposed to be training?"

"I was planning on it" Michael said. "How was I supposed to know that Titan was a higher level then Rush and Angel?"

"Does that impress you babe?" Titan asked me.

"You know what would impress me? If you jumped in the water, and stayed there until the last air bubble popped"

"You're pleasant" Rush said, "Aren't you?"

"I'm serious guys" Louis said, "If you were omnipotent for a day, what would you do?"

"Alright" Michael said. "I'd bring the dead back to life"

"Who do you need to bring back?" Lisa asked. Michael gave her a look that said "drop it".

"I need to bring back some one I loved" He murmured. My stomach dropped.

"What a loser" Titan said, "This guy is supposed to be my trainer?" Rush fired a water gun right at him, causing him to recoil in pain. "Hey, what was that for?"

"Be nice"

"If I were omnipotent" Lisa said, "I would turn my self into a Tyranitar, so I could experience what Dante did"

"Alright, whose Dante?" Michael asked.

"My Tyranitar" Lisa said with a sigh. "I got him when he was a Larvitar, and I loved him. No Louis, not that way. He was so strong, and he won me my championship"

"I thought you never became champion?"

"On the day of my ceremony, went to the bathroom and crawled out the window" Lisa shrugged. "I made the right choice"

"What would you do baby?" Louis asked L3, rubbing the Slakoth's belly.

"What does this have to do with pot?"

"I would evolve my self" Rush said.

"Why, you would rather die then evolve" I reminded him.

"Well, if Ms. Lisa is a Tyranitar, then I could be with her" Rush said. "I'd take her in my arms, and"

"Okay, please stop talking" I protested.

"Alright then Angel, what would you do?"

"What would I do? Well" I thought about it for a moment. "I would" It was then I noticed that Rush wasn't moving. "Rush?" I nudged him, nothing. Crap.

"Hello Angela"

"Hello weird Meowth creature" I said, flipping around. The Meowth stood on the edge of the beach, watching me. It seemed to be smiling. "Just out of curiosity, what are you?"

"Unbound by space and time" The Meowth said. It walked to, and past me. "Aren't you coming?"

"Yeah yeah" I groaned, as I followed the not-Meowth down the beach. "Just out of curiosity, when you show me what you need to"

"You'll wake up like it was a dream"

"Ah" The two of us came to a large pool of water in the middle of the beach. "What is this?"

"Bye-bye" Meowth tackled me, and knocked me into the pool.

"I hate you fucker" I screamed, as I fell, through space and into the mind of the monster. I could see the hands of the monster again, and I could hear his thoughts.

* * *

A rubber Gyarados mask, a cigar and a lighter, and a personal favorite of Taggers, a machete, tied around his waist. These, along with the three pokeballs around his waist, were the only things he had brought to Littleroot Town. Now he stood in front of the house with the mail-box marked Duncan, and he was going to have fun.

Tagger only needed Froslass, the other two were worthless here. He released the floating ice cube, and had it freeze the door hinges, so Tagger could brake the door off with almost no noise. He set the door on what was left of its hinges, and the two of them moved inside.

"This place smells like a brewery" Tagger said, wrinkling his nose. Tagger did not need alcohol, Tagger was beyond alcohol. Those were chains that bound the lesser men, the common man, but not the superior men. The man who was beyond rules, and beyond morals. Tagger made his way through the living room, and to a table by their couch, covered with pictures.

"Alright, who are you?" Tagger murmured, as he picked up a picture. They were all of the same person, a teenage girl. She appeared to be about 16, slightly overweight, greasy black hair and green eyes. In each of the pictures, she was scowling. Tagger held up the picture to Froslass, who shrugged. "They built a shrine to this girl. Pathetic. A parents job is not to bend to a child, it's to dominate them" He set the picture down, and moved on.

In the kitchen, he found nothing but booze (especially for making rusty nails), and all of the other rooms looked like trash heaps. Finally, he made it too the bedroom. In the bed, surrounded by empty bottles of Jim Bean, were two, very drunk shapes.

"Greetings" Tagger said, as he flipped the light on. The two drunk shapes looked up, both of them in severe pain from the light.

"Who the fuck are you?" The man asked. Tagger walked over, untied the machete, and slammed it in the mans face. Blood sprayed everywhere, coating the bed, the pillows, the walls, and the woman began to scream.

"Women are better sources of information then men, and they brake easier" Tagger said, as he jerked his machete out of the mans head, and stuck it in the head board.. The woman screamed, but as she attempted to get out of bed, she ended up tangled in the sheets. Tagger grabbed her by the wrists, and pressed them against the back board of the bed. He nodded at Froslass, who fired an ice beam and froze her to the bed by her hands.

"Why are you doing this" The woman yelled, tears rolling down her face.

"Where is Angela Duncan?" To Taggers surprise, the woman's expression changed to confusion.

"What?"

"Are you Angela Duncan?"

"What? Of course not you freak" Tagger didn't say a word, instead he pulled out the cigar he had been carrying, and lit it up. He then jerked the covers off of the bed, causing the man's corpse to roll onto the woman. She screamed at this.

"I'm going to extract information out of you. Using this for heat" Tagger held up the cigar, "And that" he gestured to Froslass, "For cold. Who are you?"

"S-Sylvia Duncan" She wheezed.

"Where is Angela Duncan" Sylvia teared up.

"She-she's dead"

"Wrong answer" Tagger grabbed her night gown, and tore, exposing her belly. He took his cigar, and inserted it into her naval. Sylvia screamed in more pain then any human being should ever be in. Her body arched in pain, arching as high as the ice around her hands would let her. When she began to kick, Tagger had Froslass ice her feet to the bed.

"Where is Angela Duncan"

"I swear, she's de-e-ead" Sylvia screamed. Tagger moved over, and stuck the cigar in her ear. Blood flowed as he pulled it out, leaving her half-deaf. Sylvia's eyes drooped from pain, and her pillow began to be dyed red. Tagger bent down, and looked her straight in the eye.

"This is nothing. I'm going to start on cold next. First I will apply ice on the small of your back, then in between your legs. Now, where is Angela Duncan?"

* * *

The images that followed are the most horrifying images I have ever seen. I can not tell you dear listener, of what I saw, for fear it would give you the nightmare it gave me. I also can not describe the state that my mothers body was in, far worse then my father. I had already known that the man with no name (as I knew him at the time) was a monster. My first vision had shown him almost kill a man for no reason except extreme rage. But what I saw him do to the drunken Duncans, goes beyond words. It goes beyond monster.

Tagger put what was left of his cigar on Sylvia's left nipple. She couldn't scream any more, she hadn't made a noise in five minutes. Tagger sighed, and didn't bother re-lighting the cigar.

"So you really don't have any information" Tagger shrugged. "Too bad for you. But you're in luck, I'm going to grant you the sweat gift of death. Froslass, shockwave and ice beam" The jolt of electricity caused Sylvia to jerk, and caused her body to arch up. The ice beam froze in an arch, perfect for Tagger.

"Good-bye Sylvia" Tagger said, as he gripped the machete in both hands, and pulled it out of the back board. He raised it over his head, "Its been fun" and slammed it down on her stomach with enough force, that Sylvia was cleanly sliced in two.

Tagger re-called Froslass, and looked over the two halves of Sylvia, no blood flowing from her frozen body. As he did, a feeling came over him, the feeling that came before he had the vision that lead him here.

Tagger could see an island. A sign, Dewford Town, A Tiny Island in the Blue Sea. Suddenly, the vision broke, leaving Tagger sweating and panting over the bed.

"What I'm looking for is in Dewford Town" Tagger grinned. "Dewford Town we go"

* * *

"Angel, wake up" I cracked my eyes open, to see Michael smiling down at me. I was in his arms, warm in his arms. The pain of what I saw was strong in my mind, and I knew the drunken Duncans were dead. Yet, in spite of that, I wasn't sad. I was sad for them but I wasn't really sad they were dead. As much as I hated them, I knew how much pain they had been in their lives. Terrible or not, they weren't in pain any more, well, unless they went south after they died, but hopefully they didn't.

"Come on Angel, let's do some battle practice with Rush" He said, "We need to get you level up" He set me down, and I almost dropped, my legs barely able to sustain my weight. I slowly walked over to bright and chirpy Rush.

"Hey, are you ready to battle?" I nodded slowly. "Every thing okay?" I looked at his smiling face, then I looked at Michael. Then I smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine"


	22. By The Sea

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XXII : By The Sea**

I spent the day trying to rationalize with the vision that horrible Meowth gave me. If I ever see that thing again, I'll wring its neck. That is, if I could grow hands. Aside from the vision, and my botched training session, nothing happened that day. That night though, that night something happened.

I woke with a start, after having a really bad nightmare. I had had a few nightmares lately, after my first vision of the monster. It took me a moment to remember where I was. I was on Michael's chest with Rush, on the beach under the stars. Beside us was Titan, who had sunk into the sand due to his weight. Louis was laying face down in the sand, with L3 on top of him. Ms. Lisa was laying on her side, nude (actually not as disturbing an image as I expected). Virgil and Enfer were missing though.

"Alright, where the hell are they" I murmured. Looking up the beach, I could see a fireball erupt. "They might be over there" I carefully slipped off of Michael's chest, kicking Rush repeatedly by accident (a hurricane couldn't wake Rush up). I then took off down the beach, until I came upon Virgil and Enfer. "What the hell?"

Virgil and Enfer were engaged in, what I can only describe as an impromptu training session. Enfer opened her mouth, and unleashed a fire blast, but Virgil was able to run and jumped over it. He lunged at Enfer, right claws extended, but Enfer twisted her body away, and all Virgil got was sand. Enfer then attempted to bite his skull, but he jammed his left claws in her mouth, nothing. The two disengaged, and jumped back. Their eyes were locked, and their breathing was in sync.

"You're very good" Enfer said.

"Thanks, so are you" Virgil grinned. "It's not often that a re-born human ends up this strong"

_Re-born human?_ My jaw dropped, as my left foreleg went limp. Some how, I was able to stay up. _I knew it, I knew it! I knew Enfer was re-born!_

"I mean, I know Angel isn't this good" Virgil said. "But you're proof that she could be"

"I suppose"

"She has no idea?"

"Of course she has some idea. We locked eyes, she had the vision. Aside from that, she knows nothing, and I want to keep it that way" Enfer sighed. "Rush knows, I told him. He agrees with me, Angel should never find out"

"So, why did you tell me?" Virgil asked.

"You're strong. We're going to need all the strength we can get, if Tagger comes back"

"Tagger? Her old master?" I murmured. "The nightmare man?"

"Come on, brakes over" Enfer said. With that, she unleashed a flame-thrower, that Virgil avoided by plowing into the sand. I turned and walked away, I had seen enough.

* * *

When I woke up that morning, I was going over ways I was going to bust Enfer in my head. The most fun way would be to tell her her secret was blown, and then laugh about it. Boy, I was a bitch, wasn't I?

"Big day today Angel" Michael said, as he scooped me up, and sat me in the sand, beside Rush and Titan. Rush was asleep, and Titan saw this as an opportunity to hit on me.

"Hey Angel, you and I haven't gotten a chance to know each other"

"Dreams can come true"

"Oh, you want to know me" Titan said. If he had had lips, he would have been licking them. "You haven't taken a ride on old iron sides"

"No offense" I said, "But the iron is a little rusty" If he could have frowned, he would have.

"Hey, I'm the best you would ever get. Don't insult me, I don't get insulted"

"When we go up against Brawly, and you get your ass kicked, can I insult you then?"

"I'll never get my ass kicked, I'm tough" I nodded at this statement. I then walked over to sleeping Rush and kicked him in the chest once. Rush stayed asleep, and fired off a stream of water. Titan screamed, as the water went in through the holes in his mask. He fell to the ground, and began rolling around, almost trying to put out an invisible fire. I walked over to him, and smirked.

"You're right, you're tough!"

"Today is the day of my second gym battle" Michael said, as he looked up from my book. "According to this Brawly's primary battling pokemon are" Michael turned to Louis, who was staring slack-jawed at the ocean, where Lisa was swimming. "Louis?"

"That's great, fighting pokemon" Michael nodded.

"I like to dissect girls" He said, "Did you know I'm utterly insane?"

"Great tan Marcus" Louis responded.

"Lou!" Michael yelled. "We get it, Lisa is swimming. What's so special about that?" Louis turned to him, border-lining on enraged.

"You know, if you didn't notice, her dress is on her towel, so she's swimming nude"

"Show me where?" Louis pointed, and now they were both staring slack jawed. I smiled to my self, deciding to have some fun. I walked over to Rush, and began to whisper in his ear.

"Rush, Ms. Lisa is swimming nude" I blinked, and Rush was gone. I could see a cloud of sand being kicked up, as the little mudpuppy ran. Unfortunately for him, Lisa was coming out of the water.

"Oh, hi Rush" Lisa said, bending over to stroke his head fin, as he came to a screeching stop. I think Rush's heart stopped for a minutes, and he followed her, as she walked back over to us.

"So Michael, big day today?" Michael and Louis simply stared as she sat down, not bothering to dry off.

"Uh, do you need another towel, or what?"

"No, I prefer to air dry" Lisa grinned. "It makes my skin salty"

"O-okay"

"Now, let us talk strategy"

"Well, uh. Look, you're going to have to cover those things up" Lisa looked down at her chest.

"Why, don't you like them?"

"More then you can imagine" Michael stammered. "But, they kind of draw attention to them selves"

"Well, don't look" Michael grimaced.

"It's not that easy. I'm never going to be able to think strategy, so could you please cover up?"

* * *

Brawly, as is widely known, is a fighting-type specialist. I don't honestly have much respect for him as a trainer, and very little as a person. But this is strategy, not my personal feelings.

By now, each persons starter should have evolved. That's good. The bad news is, none of the starters are strong against fighting-type.

Combusken is part fighting-type, and fighting-type does not resist its self, so it's not the end of the world if you have to use it. It can learn peck, which is a flying-type move, but it barely does any damage. Even though fighting-type will never be known for its defense, its not going to be beaten by peck.

Marshtomp learns no attacks strong against fighting-type. It should have learned mud shot, which will lower speed, an area where Marshtomp fails, but it wont hurt them very much.

My Grovyle probably fairs the worst. Its only offensive moves at this point in time are pound, absorb, quick attack, fury cutter, and pursuit. Fighting-type are weak to none of these, and resistant to two. Ugh.

My recommendation is to catch either a flying-type (preferably Taillow or Wingull, although you can find Mantine in the ocean) or psychic-type (most people looks for Ralts, but I would go with Abra. More common, stronger final form). Fighting-types weakness to flying, is some where on par with dragons weakness to ice. There is no scientific reason for it, but they are weak to it. Once you have one of those two types, sweeping Brawly should be no problem.

* * *

"Wow, the gyms seen better days" Lisa said.

"I'll say" The gyms roof had a hole in it, due to the large tree that had fallen on it. The glass doors and windows were all shattered, it had been a really bad storm. Standing in front of the gym, waxing a surf board, was a man with ugly blue hair. He looked up as we came up, and smiled.

"Are you here to challenge the gym?"

"Are you Brawly?" Michael asked.

"That I am little dude, that I am" _Little dude? Who the hell talks like that. _"Well, I have to except every challenge, so follow me"

"I thought your gym had a hole in it"

"This is just a building dude. A gym is what you make it" Brawly turned, and walked around the building, us following like lemmings. We walked until we came to the beach behind the gym. "This is where we'll battle"

"This? This is a strip of sand!"

"I know dude, you get to be the first person to brake it in" Brawly thought about it for a moment. "Wait, that's wrong, I had a challenger yesterday. Red haired lady"

"Red hair?" Michael scowled. "Was she wearing a pants suit?"

"Now that you mention it, she was!" I let out a cry of anguish. Brawly walked over to the opposite side of the beach, while Louis, Lisa and crew plopped down in the sand on the side. Rush and Titan were both in pokeballs, something I know Michael hated.

"Alright dude, standard three-on-three battle?"

"Agreed"

"Challenger goes first" Michael nodded.

"Okay Angel, you're up" Wait, did he mean me? Me, whose weak to fighting type? I gulped, and ran out in front of Michael.

"Awesome dude, and for my pick, come on out Machop" In front of me, appeared a little blue pokemon, possibly made of pure muscle. For some reason, it kept flexing. The thing didn't look like it had two brain cells in its head. "Machop, bulk up"

"Angel, shadow ball"

_No you idiot_ I thought, as the ball of black energy formed in my mouth, _tell me to use growl_. I fired the ball right at Machop, but it did almost nothing, as bulk up ended.

"Machop, use leer and karate chop"

"Angel, tackle" I wanted to scream, offensive wasn't the way to go. I was able to dodge leer, but as I rushed at Machop, it's blue arm came down on me, hard.

Pain radiated out of my body, and it took a moment for me to get back up. I think Michael ordered hidden power, because the next thing I know, white orbs are flying out of my body. They strike Machop, throw it through the air, until it lands on its head, out cold.

"Okay, that hurt" I moaned, as I limped back over to Michael. When I turned around, Brawly had already released his second pokemon, Meditite. "Oh come on!"

"Meditite, focus punch" The Meditite closed its eyes.

"Angel, tackle" Alright. For once, this was the right idea, and damage to Meditite before is finishes focussing, it'll freeze and not be able to attack. I took off at it, but something went wrong.

"Why isn't Angel running?" Louis asked.

"That karate chop did a lot of damage" Lisa responded. "All she can do is limp"

"Oh fuck" I made it right to Meditite, when suddenly it's eyes shot open. Faster then my eyes, it drew its tiny fist back, and smashed into my muzzle. I flew across the beach, landing near Michael. He bent down, and scooped me up.

"You're done Angel"

"I'm fine Michael" I said, as the world spun around me. "Put me back out, I can take him" Michael shuffled me into one hand, as he grabbed a second pokeball.

"Alright Titan, you're up" The Aron burst onto the field.

"Kick ass!" He proclaimed, thrusting one foreleg in the air.

"Meditite, focus punch" This guy is like a broken record. The Meditite closed its eyes.

"Aron, head butt" Titan charged at Meditite, and hit it way before it was finished. The problem with Brawly's Meditite was, it only knows one attack! It only knows focus punch! You can reflect until you're blue in the face, if you can't attack, you'll loose.

Meditite went rigid, as Titan knocked it on its back. Michael ordered a metal claw, and Meditite couldn't defend, as Titan drove his glowing leg into Meditites stomach.

"Alright, good job" Brawly said, "But handle this. Come out, Makuhita" A little gold boxer thing appeared on the field, thrusting its black glove in the air. The thing looked like a boxing Buddha. "Arm thrust"

"Iron defense Titan" Titan curled into a ball, as Makuhita slammed its palm into him once, twice, three times. When it stopped, Titan uncurled.

"That hurt, but I'm okay!" The hell he was, that attack probably about took Titans head off.

"Good job Titan, mud slap"

"Reversal" Titan flung mud straight at Makuhita, hitting it in the eyes. Makuhita screamed, and ended up missing his attack. It furiously rubbed at its eyes, until it could see again.

"Alright Titan, metal claw"

"Vital throw" Titan lunged at Makuhita with metal claw, as Makuhita grabbed him. Titans metal claw ended up hitting Makuhita under the chin, and became lodged there. Makuhita attempted to throw Titan, but since he and Titan were stuck together, the two both went flying and hit the ground, hard.

As the dust cleared, I could see Titan, knocked out. Beside him though, was Makuhita, also unconscious.

"A double knock out" Lisa said. "You don't get many of those" Yeah, it was a double knock out, but Brawly had lost all of his pokemon, so it was enough. The match was ours.

Fuckin' A.


	23. The Contest I

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XXIII : The Contest**

Christ I hate contests. I can't begin to describe how much I hate contests, I really can't. I'm sure that this wont make me popular, but I have absolutely no respect for coordinators, in my first or second life. I always believed contests required no skill, and that coordinators were trainers who couldn't make it. I still believe that, but that's because I'll always be prejudice against coordinators.

"Well Angel, I think we're about done" Robin said, as she finished brushing my fur. I was staring at my self in a mirror, and frankly, I wanted to throw up. I had, oh God, pink ribbons fastened to my ears. My fur had some kind of sparkly stuff combed in, except on my tail, which was where Robin was going to comb it in to finish the look. "What do you think" As she began to comb my tail, I used all of my energy not to cry.

How did I get here? How did I end up in Robin's hands, about to be entered into a contest as her pokemon? Actually, it's a pretty interesting story.

* * *

We left Dewford town immediately after winning at the gym. Nothing much of interest happened on our two day journey to Slateport, except for the small fight Michael and Lisa got into on the day we arrived.

"I'm just saying, on days before I have a gym battle, don't walk around nude!" Michael said.

"Why, I mean, how did my nudity harm you?"

"Let's see. Before my battle, instead of thinking about strategy, all I could think about were your boobs. During my battle, instead of seeing Brawly, I saw your boobs. Then, when he handed me my badge"

"I think I get where you're going with this"

"Do you?" I could have cared less. We had won, even if it had mostly been by luck. Right now, I was curled up in a ball, so I couldn't see the ocean. I know Titan was beside me, and Enfer was on the floor in front of me. Ms. Lisa was on her stomach writing, and Rush was asleep on the small of her back. Lucky bastard.

"Dude, there are plenty of things that could have distracted you more" Louis said from the front of the boat. L3 was tied around his neck like a scarf. "I could have taken off my shirt"

"So?"

"I have three nipples"

"DUDE"

"There's an image that'll never leave me" I mumbled. I passed in and out of consciousness, until I heard Louis proclaim.

"We're here!"

* * *

"Alright" Michael said as we walked down the dock, "I think we should spend no time in Slateport. Their isn't a gym, and there isn't much of value here. Only if you're a coordinator, and none of us here are"

"Speaking of coordinators" Lisa said, as we walked off the dock, "Their sure are a lot of them"

The white streets of Slateport were flooded with people. People carrying small pokemon, and being followed by large ones. On the sides of the roads, vendors had set up booths, selling ribbons and make up. Bits of conversation drifted about, all of it about contest move and combos.

"Maybe this has something to do with it" Louis said, snatching a flyer off of a light post, Michael and Lisa crowding around.

"What's it say?" Rush asked, "I want to read"

"Trust me Rush" Enfer said, "You don't"

"Third annual Slateport open contest" Michael read. "Ever dreamed of being a coordinator? Then this contest is for you! This contest is open to all people, even without a contest pass. Registration begins at two PM, contest begins at five"

"Well, it began an hour ago" Louis said, "So I must assume all spots would be taken up"

"Why would that affect me?" Michael asked.

"I don't know, what if you wanted to try your hand at a contest?" Michael laughed.

"Well, I do have a lot of respect for coordinators, what they do is just as difficult as a being a trainer. But it's not really my thing. Beside, I think we need to get out of Slateport as soon as possible"

"What do you mean?" Lisa asked, "If we leave now, at best we'll get a couple of hours of travel, before the sun goes down. We need to find a hotel"

"It's a two day contest. All of the hotel rooms will be booked"

"Alright, this is a democracy, lets take a vote"

"This is not a democracy, this is a dictatorship" Michael said, "And I'm the dictator!"

"I say we make this a democracy" Lisa said, "All in favor, say I"

"I!" Louis and Lisa said in unison.

"Alright, now I say we find a hotel room. All in favor, say I"

"I!"

"You guys don't take me seriously, do you?" Michael asked. They both shook their heads.

"This isn't fair" I said, "Louis is always going to vote with Lisa"

"Can you blame him?" Rush asked, "She's perfect"

"Hey, you're supposed to be on Michaels side!"

"Even I'm on Michaels side" Titan said.

"We're going to look for a hotel" Lisa said.

"We are?" Louis asked, drooling.

"You can come with us"

"No thanks, I'll wait here" Michael said. Louis and Lisa, followed by Enfer and Virgil, turned to leave, when Rush ran up to Lisa and began pawing at her ankle. She looked down, and smiled.

"I think Rush wants to come with us, do you mind"

"I don't mind" Michael said, sighing. Lisa bent down, and scooped Rush up. She stroked his head fin as they walked off.

"Traitor" I snarled. Even from a distance, I could see Rush stick his tongue out at me. Michael walked over to the cement wall that over looked the ocean, and sat down. Me and Titan followed.

"An extra day in a town that has nothing" Michael said. "Seems about right" He smiled at the two of us. "At least I have you guys"

"You've got me also" A voice said. My blood ran cold, not that voice. Not the voice of the red-haired Lucifer. We all looked up, to see a woman in front of us, blocking the sun.

"Hello Robin" Robin smiled, as she sat down with us. Today Robin had gone for a monotone, wearing a red suit, painted-red nails, and red hair (The hair though was always red).

"Whose this?" Titan asked me.

"Usually I have an indication that Robins going to appear" I muttered, "The ocean turning to blood, locusts appearing in swarms, fire and brimstone raining from the sky"

"What are you doing here Robin?" Michael asked.

"Well, I wanted to enter one of the contests" Robin said, "But all but the cute contest is filled up, and only normal-type pokemon are allowed in the cute contest, and none of my three"

"Your three?" Robin smiled.

"I see you caught a new one" She said, gesturing to Titan. "Well, so did I" Robin pulled out three pokeballs, and released the three pokemon inside. Her Ralts (Ra-Ra), and her Bagon (Ba-Ba) appeared, followed by a new one. "This, is El-El"

"Oh you've got to be kidding me" I moaned. Robin had caught an Electike. Nothing special about that. But, instead of being green, it was blue!

"What's wrong with its color?" Michael asked, "You dye this one also?"

"No, El-El came this way" Robin smiled. "El-El is shiny"

"She caught a shiny" Titan said, "She must be lucky"

"When you sell your soul to the devil, he'll give you anything" I mumbled. Robin withdrew all of her pokemon, and refastened the balls around her waist.

"Anyways, I just found out I could enter the contest, and who should I see but Michael"

"What do you want Robin?" Robin nodded.

"I want to borrow Angel" At this, both me and Michael went into a laughing fit, while Titan just stared, confused.

"I don't get it, what's so funny"

"Oh God, I can't laugh any harder or I'll throw up" Michael wheezed. Finally, the two of us were able to calm down. "You dyed Angel pink Robin, why in heavens name would I let you borrow her?"

"Because, I want to win" Robin said. "I wanted to be a coordinator when I was young, but my mother wouldn't let me because she didn't want me conforming to gender roles"

"Well, this is certainly a surprise" A new voice said. Every body looked up.

"Not him" I muttered. In front of us, was a boy, maybe seventeen. He was completely bald, with thin eyebrows and gray-eyes. He was wearing a three-piece suit, and was smiling a creepy half-smile.

Titan picked up on our looks of shock, when he asked "Whose that?"

"Donny" I said.

"You know him?"

"Yeah, I know him" Me, Robin, and Michael new him. Donny was my ex-boyfriend, who I had dated a year ago. When I started dating a boy who was a year older then me, I expected some form of maturity. Instead, I got a whiny, clingy monster. Donny was a freak in my opinion. For one thing, he shaved his head. Another thing was, he talked about him self in the third person. He never said I, he said Donny. Finally, he told me he was going to leave and become a coordinator. He wanted me to come with him, and I broke up with him.

"Donny never expected to find you two here" He said, sitting down with us. "Donny is amused, it's like sitting down with two losers" Oh, and he was an obnoxious asshole. I mean, I once dated some one named Donny? Was I dating a cartoon character?

"What are you doing here, Donny?" Michael growled.

"Donny is a coordinator now" Donny said. "Donny is going to be the best. Donny has decided to enter this contest, because Donny believes that a coordinator should win, and not some lucky amateur" He looked Robin up and down, and smiled. "What are you doing here Robin?"

"Well, I'm a trainer now"

"A trainer?" Donny laughed. "You couldn't be a trainer. You're worthless, you always sucked at every thing" He grinned, "You were really good at getting down on your knees, and sucking people off" Michael pulled back to punch Donny out, but Robin stopped him.

"He's not worth it" She whispered.

"And you Michael, what are you doing?" Donny asked.

"Well, I'm also a trainer" Michael said, "And a damn good one"

"You, a good one? Donny laughs. Donny remembers, when me and Angela were dating. You were so jealous, I had Angela, and you didn't" Donny turned back to Robin. "Donny knows you were also jealous, you wanted a piece of the Donny meat"

"Did he actually just say, Donny meat?" Titan asked. I cringed.

"Yeah, he did" Why did I date this moron?

"Donny, I would rather have some one shove a red-hot poker up my vagina, then have a piece of Donny meat" Robin snarled.

"If I remember correctly" Michael said, "It was you who ended up jealous, when Angela broke up with you. Also I believe, she broke up with you because you were a freak"

"Angela loved Donny" Donny stammered. "Angela and Donny were soul mates. Angela was just confused. Donny was waiting for her to return, and she would have" Now he smiled. "Angela couldn't live without Donny, and his hot cock" That was all he got out, before Michael punched him in the face. Blood dribbled out of his nose and mouth. I burst out laughing, until I about pissed myself. "You punched Donny! Donny is going to have you arrested for assault"

"Oh really, I punched you" Michael said. "I don't remember that. Did I punch him Robin?"

"If I remember, Donny slipped and fell on his face" Robin said.

"Donny slipped, while sitting down?" Donny exclaimed.

"Stranger things have happened" Michael said. Donny scowled, and stood up, hatred radiating off of him.

"Donny doesn't need this head ache" He snarled, "Donny will be in the cute contest. Donny is telling you this, so you'll be there when Donny wins" With out another word, Donny turned and ran off.

"I can't let that happen" Robin said.

"I know, but what can we do?" Michael asked. Robin turned to him slowly.

"Lend me Angel" Robin said. "I know a lot about contests. If you lend her to me, we'll win"

"I don't know Robin"

"Then let Angel decide" Robin scooped me up, and pulled me up to her face as I kicked and struggled. She pressed her nose against mine. "Angel loves her aunt Robin, doesn't she?"

"If I used a shadow ball, it would punch a hole in your skull" I growled. "But, and I can't believe I'm saying this, I agree" Since Michael would never understand me, I liked Robin across her nose, to show I agreed.

"Well, Angel seems to like the idea" Michael said, "But I'm not doing this because of that. I'm going to allow you to use Angel, because I hate Donny" He grinned, "And seeing Donny loose is always going to be fun"

"Alright, it's agreed" Robin said. "I'm going to go register, then I'm going to pick up Angel. Be sure to watch"

"With pleasure" Michael said. As Robin walked off, Louis and Lisa came back.

"Who was that?" Lisa asked.

"Oh, no one" Michael said, standing up. "Did you find a hotel room"

"I got us three" Louis said. "I hope you like heights, their on the top floor"

"Oh goody" Michael said. "Oh, and Lisa, you've got your wish"

"What wish?"

"We're going to see a contest"

* * *

An hour later, Robin was registered with "her Eevee" Angel. The contest building was a large pentagon shaped building, with five stages for five contests. Their were five dressing/preparation rooms, where trainers could prepare their pokemon before the contest began.

"Alright, this is your preparation area" A black-haired woman wearing a headset said, "You have one hour to prepare, before they call you onto the stage. You understand?"

"Yes"

"Good" The headset woman ran off. Robin was carrying me, and under one arm, she had a small box. She sat me down on the small table, in front of a mirror.

"Alright Angel, let's make you even cuter" Robin said, opening the box and pulling out some kind of glittery goop and two pink ribbons. She spent the next hour grooming me, until I looked like a shiny idiot.

"Well, I guess I'm cute" I muttered.

"Now, the final touch" Robin said. She pulled out a small pink collar, with a brass tag. Instead of a name on the tag, their was just an old fashioned, capital A. "And you're all done" Robin bent down, face beside mine, smiling. "What do you say Angel, let's kick some ass?"

I was about to enter a contest, and not only that, but I had to work with Robin, to beat possibly the only person I hated more then her. This should be fun.

"Yeah" I said, "Let's kick some Donny ass"


	24. The Contest II

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help**

**XXIV : The Contest (Tooth Pulling Sequence)**

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, to the third annual Slateport Open Contest, Cute Division" An extremely annoying MC said from the main contest stage.

"This should be exciting" Lisa said, as she, Michael, Rush, Titan, Virgil, and Enfer walked up the stands, until they came to their row. "Why is it, instead of chairs, they just have metal benches to sit on?"

"Benches are cheaper" Michael said, "Come on, help me heft Titan up" The two bent down, and wrapped their fingers around Titans small stone/steel body.

"Holy fuck" Lisa cried, "Why don't you stick the two-ton steel monstrosity in its pokeball?"

"I hate using those stupid spheres" Michael said, through gritted teeth, "I only use them as long as I have to. Now pull!"

"CRAP!" In one fluid motion, they lifted Titan up, "Michael, my arms are freezing up"

"Mine to" Michael said, "Awe crap" They dropped Titan right onto the bench. Where he landed bent into the shape of his small body. Lisa and Michael looked at each other, and shrugged. "Good enough"

"When is Louis getting back?" Lisa asked. As she sat down, Rush jumped onto her lap.

"Getting back? Are you kidding me?" Michael asked. "They have an open bar here. We're going to have to collect him, passed out in a puddle of puke when we leave"

"Oh, that'll be a pleasant image" Lisa said. "Now, how do they do this contest thing again?"

"Well, there are four blocks. A,B,C, and D" Michael said, "Each made of 8 trainers. The winner of each block moves onto the contest tomorrow"

"How long before we see Angel?"

"Well, she and Robin, that's the girl whose borrowing her, they're in B block" Michael said, "And they just started the A block, so it should take a few"

"This contest is over" The MC said, "We have a winner! Give it up, for the block A champion, Donny"

"Is that the same Donny?" Lisa asked.

"You've got to be freaking kidding me" Michael moaned. "Donny was in the first block? He won in five minutes? How the hell did he even do that?!"

"Go Donny" A woman with red hair, sitting directly in front of Michael and Lisa cheered. "You can win this all, beat those losers"

"I'm thinking girlfriend" Virgil said to Enfer.

"You mean of that Donny kid?" Enfer asked, "But he's bald. And from what Michael was ranting, he talks about him self in the third person"

"Alright, so he's a freak" Virgil said, "Even freaks need love"

"What about you?"

"Theirs plenty of time for love when I'm in hell" Virgil said.

"You know, you're a fun guy" The A block was cleared off of the stage, so the B block had to come out. When I said had, I meant had to come out, I wasn't going to go willingly. Not as long as I was as sparkly as a disco ball.

"Come on Angel" Robin said, trying to pull me from the preparation table. I had dug the claws on my forepaws into the table, and was trying to do anything not to go out. "Don't you want to kick some Donny ass?"

"I changed my mind" I screamed, "I don't want to be pretty!"

"You're going to love this Angel" My claws were slipping, "Now come on" Robin gave one final tug, and I came loose.

"Crap!" I was pulled against Robins' chest. She began to stroke my fur.

"Shhhhh, it's alright Angel" Robin whispered, "I know your nervous, but we're going to go out and win" I found myself melting into her arms. Crap.

"Coordinator number 4, Robin and her Eevee, Angel" The MC said, as Robin walked out on stage, with me in her arms. Above us was a giant, four-sided screen, with images of me and Robin on each side.

"Look, there they are" Lisa said, pointing. "Wait, what happened to Angel?"

"Why is her fur shiny?" Michael moaned, "And the ribbons, what's with the ribbons. Is she wearing a collar?"

"I think it's better you don't look"

"Angel looks cute!" Rush said, "I want her to win, what about you?"

"I think that collar is sexy, but the rest of it is stupid" Titan said. "If I had teeth, I'd rip it off of her, then take her on stage"

"Greetings, pitiful humans" Louis said, as he made his way up the stage, carrying a tray. L3 was tied around his neck.

"Dear God" Michael said, "What is that?" Louis was carrying a tray, filled with every drink imaginable, including Whisky Sours, Cherry Bombs, Long Island Ice Teas, Golden and Rusty Nails, Fuzzy Navels, Bellinis, Torpedo Juices, Cosmopolitans, Gin Fuzz, Pink Ladies, Silver Bullets, Southsides, and Dirty Martinis.

"Did you knock off a bar?" Lisa asked. Louis laughed and sat down beside Titan. He looked down at the little Aron in the bench, before shrugging it off.

"Dude, open bar!"

"I'm sorry, did you say open bar, or empty bar?" Michael asked. "You must have every drink under the sun!"

"Well" Louis began, as he picked up a Vesper, "They handed me a drink list, and I said yes. I got one of everything!"

"You can't finish all of those" Lisa exclaimed.

"I know, it'll be tough. Their will be times when I'm going to want to throw up" Louis said, "But I have to do this. This tray of drinks is Mt. Everest. And I am its Edmund Hillary" He tossed the Vesper and back, lemon peel and all.

"Now remember B block coordinators" The MC said, "The contest is four, one-on-one matches. It is a three round contest, the winner will move onto the main event, tomorrow"

"Three rounds, and Donny won in five minutes?!" Michael cried, "That isn't possible!"

"Yet, it happened" Enfer said, although Michael couldn't hear her. "I feel like I should comfort Michael, just to calm him down"

"What comfort can you give? You're an Arcanine"

"Well, at least I'm doing something" Enfer said, "Besides, it'll take my mind off of certain things"

"Match number 2" The annoying MC said, "Jenna and Jiggy vs. Robin and Angel. The coordinators will each give three appeals, the person the judge awards the most points at the end wins"

I noticed, for the first time, the contest judge. He was behind a table on the far side of the stage. On the table was a console, that would allow him to assign us points. What our scores were would be displayed on the big screen.

"Alright, Jenna, you can go first"

"With pleasure" The other coordinator said. Her pokemon was a Jigglypuff (clever nickname, wasn't it?), and she ordered a defense curl. The Pink ball curled up, and I let out a groan. People do this for a living?

"Alright, a basic move, with basic appeal" Robin said.

"Okay, I get that those two hearts" Lisa said, pointing to the big screen, "Represent how many points a coordinator has" The big screen had been divided into two columns, one with a J on top, and one with an R. Above the two columns, were five large hearts, one of which was lit up. "What are the big hearts?"

"The big hearts are the voltage meter" Michael said, "After five cute moves, the five hearts will light up, and who ever did the fifth move will get a whole bunch of bonus points"

"I think the board is trying to tell me something" Louis said, as his head began to spin. "Those little hearts are talking to me"

"I think you've had enough to drink" Louis gave Michael the finger, as he downed a Bloody Mary in five gulps. His eyes and neck bulged, and his arms flew every which way, trying to grab at the air.

"You moron" Lisa sighed. Michael reached over, and pulled the celery stick Louis had tried to swallow whole out.

"Thanks dude" Louis wheezed.

"Okay Angel" Robin began. "Tail Whip" I turned, and I faced the crowed, and the judge, and I was struck still. All of those eyes, watching me. I couldn't move. Oh God, I had stage fright. It doesn't matter, all I wanted was away from them.

"Angel!" When you fight in a gym, all you can see is the gym leader. When you battle in a tournament, you focus on your opponent, and no one else. But the eyes of the world were watching me, and I couldn't move.

"Uh, can I have a moment alone with my Angel?" Robin asked.

"It will cost you an appeal"

"It'll be worth it" She said, as she picked me up, and walked a few feet away. Robin turned her back to the crowd, and I was finally able to breathe again. Robin pulled me up, so both of our eyes met.

"Okay Angel, I know your scared, look at me!" She said sternly, as I squirmed in her arms. "I know you're scared. You miss Michael. I wish he could be out here, but he knows nothing about contests, it's just you and me. Okay?"

"I can't do this, I can't" I cried, still squirming.

"Angel, calm down" Robin said, in a soothing voice. "We are going to win this. It's not, we might win this, we're going to. I know a few things about contests" She smiled, "But I also know a few things about coordinators. One big thing is, frequently people don't remember when the voltage meter goes up. I think I can use that. Are you ready?" Ready? Why was I freezing out there, why? I couldn't do it, I couldn't.

But, if I didn't go, I would let Michael down. That hurt worse then loosing. Also, I would let Robin down, and for some reason, this hurt me! The worst thing though, Donny might win! It'll be a cold day in hell when I let Donny win.

"Vee!" I said. Robin smiled, and we made our way back to the center of the stage.

"Well, that was strange" Rush said, "Why did Angel freeze up?"

"I dunno, but the red freak de-thawed her" Titan said.

"How much money, would you pay me to drink this?" Louis asked, holding up a Long Island Ice Tea, "Or better yet, how much, would you pay me, to drink it in one gulp?"

"Is this a service you're providing?" Michael asked.

"Yes, I expect you to pay me for drinking this! I expect" Lisa reached over, and flipped the drink over, and dumped it on the floor. "Hey, where'd my drink go?"

"You already drank it" Lisa said.

"Oh, right" Louis said, before picking up a martini.

"Jenna, your second appeal" The MC said.

"Oh gooooody! Jiggy, sing" The pink gooball began to sing, and I had to hold on and not pass out. I was able to hold on though, and Jiggys' appeal was scored.

"Another basic move" Robin said, "Works better when you have more then one person, because it makes all the pokemon that come next more easily startled. But you're the only one who comes next"

"Robin, your turn" Robin smiled.

"Angel, growl" I shrugged, and let out a small growl.

"I don't get it" Lisa said, "Why would Robin do an attack that only gets a few points?"

"We'll see" Michael said.

"Alright, final appeal Jenna" Jenna nodded.

"Jiggy, rest" The pink rubber ball closed its eyes, and fell on its back with a heavy thud.

"And with the bonus I get, I win" Jenna said.

"Uh, Jenius? Count again" Robin said, "I didn't do a first appeal. Angel, sand attack" As I tossed sand ahead, an alarm went off. "With that, I win"

* * *

"You won the B-block" Michael said to Robin, as we stood out side of the building an hour later, "I, I can't begin to explain"

"Eh, I understand contests" Robin said, "Where are your friends?"

"Rush and Titan are in their pokeballs, and Lisa is helping Louis throw up" Michael said, "41 drinks, he's lucky he isn't dead"

"Hey, red" Michael, Robin, and me turned to see Donny walking over to us, followed by a woman with red hair. "You won your group. Donny was impressed, but you can't beat Donny. Donny will always kick your ass"

"Oh Donny, don't you have a dick to suck?" Robin asked.

"Donny doesn't suck, Donny gets sucked by his girl" He turned to the long red haired woman, "Say hi girl" She smiled, and extended her hand.

"Hello, I'm De-"

"Er hem" Donny coughed.

"I'm Angela" The girl said, wincing at her own name.

"Angela?" Michael asked, almost unsure, "Uh, nice to meet you"

"Like wise" Angela2 said.

"Well, Donny and Angela would like to talk, but Donny and Angela have to go" With that, the two turned and walked off.

"The girl is named Angela" Michael said, "Does that creep you out?"

"More then you can imagine"

* * *

"Oh Donny, I want you" Angela2, whose real name was Deborah, moaned as the two of them walked into his hotel room.

"Well, then put the wig on" Donny said, as he closed the door. Deborah sat down on the bed, and pouted.

"I let you call me Angela, do I have to wear the wig?"

"Yes, you have to wear the wig, put it on"

"I don't want to"

"Put the wig on"

"NO!"

"PUT IT ON" Donny screamed. Crying, Deborah reached under the pillow of her bed, and pulled out a black wig. As she put it on, she looked exactly like me.


	25. Pretty Lady

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XXV : Pretty Lady**

The knocking at me and Michael's door came at two a.m. Until that point, I was thinking about how much I hated my life, hated contests, hated Robin, and really hated Donny. The only thing getting me through the night was that at least the next day would have to be the only way I had to be paraded around like a moron. People think contests are so much fun, but they are boring as hell, and degrading for the pokemon in them.

Knock-knock-knock-knock. The knocking shook me out of my dream of turning back to a human and beating Robins' head in. I cracked my eyes open, to see Michael sitting up slowly.

"What on earth is that?" Michael moaned, as he moved me and Rush off of his chest, putting us beside the hole that was Titan. Slowly, he walked over to the door, and cracked it open slowly.

"Hello Michael" A very hyper Robin said. Michael closed his eyes and counted to a thousand before responding.

"Dear God why?"

"Michael, I need to bother Angel" Michael nodded.

"I'll ask again, why?"

"We need to rehearse" Robin said, "Today is a lot more important then yesterday. Every little thing we do today will count"

"Michael won't let you take me, you moron" I moaned. The next thing I know, Michael was scooping me up. This woke me up with a jolt. "MICHAEL! You can't give me to psycho, you can't!" Michael handed me to Robin.

"Be good for Robin" He said, kissing me on my forehead, before closing the door. Robin smiled at me.

"We're going to have some fun"

* * *

There are three things I really hate in life. When ever the drunken Duncans would get really drunk, and decide it was time to spend time with me. That the TV show version of the book JPod eliminated the character of Evil Mark. And when ever I had to spend long times interacting with Robin. Like right now.

Robin had rented a room in the same hotel as us, after she found out where we were staying. How she could even afford a hotel room, I'll never know, but she had a small one like us. She sat me down on the bed, and sat on the floor in front of me.

"Alright, now Angel, we got lucky yesterday" I realized for the first time, Robin was still wearing a pants suit, the pajamas equivalency. It was made of light blue flannel, with little ducks all over it. "Jenna forgot which turn she had, and the other two were both amateurs like us. Donny though does this professionally. It won't be like yesterday"

"Also, since today is the big day, they will be judging you on every thing from the moment the contest starts" Robin continued. "Yesterday, they only judged you on appeals, today they judge you on every thing from the moment you walk in. Also, we will have to deal with seven other coordinators, the three that one yesterday, and four that will be selected before the main contest today"

"From the moment we walk in, we will be judged, starting from how we walk in" Robin stood up and picked me up, then setting me on the ground. She sat down on the bed, and looked me over slowly. "Alright, show me how you would walk Angel"

"What the hell are you talking about?" I groaned.

"Walk for me" Robin commanded. I shrugged, and walked a straight line. "NO NO NO" Robin yelled.

"You asked me to walk you moron!" I yelled back. Robin jumped off of the bed, and grabbed me up.

"Angel, if this is going to work, you have got to listen" She said, emphasizing each word. Now I was pissed. I was working with some one I hated, to win something I really hated. I had to listen to Robin, but damn it, this moron was going to treat me with respect. I smiled to my self. On the other hand, I could make Robin feel really guilty about condescending to me.

One great thing about being an Eevee is this. If some one is mad at you, you can make your self unbelievably cute, and all of the anger would vanish. I let my front legs, hind legs, and tail go limp. I drooped my ears, and opened my eyes as big as they would go.

"Awe Angel, I'm so sorry" Robin said. "It's hard to do something you've never done before. Let me show you what to do" Robin sat me on the bed, and stood in front of me. "Now like this, body rigid, sashay, sashay" As she walked, she swung her hips left and right, hands at her sides.

"Oh dear God" I cried, "You can't expect me to walk like that"

"Okay Angel, you've seen me do it, now it's your turn"

"How about this" I cried, "I can wear the pants suit, you can wear the collar and ribbons, and you can sashay your pretty pink ass all over the stage!" Robin grabbed me up, and sat me on the ground.

"Alright Angel, lets go"

"Fuck you"

"Angel, we need to do this" I let out a scream of frustration, and walked straight ahead, sashaying the entire way. This almost made me cry. Robin smiled. "Good, now let's get started on other things"

* * *

Robin spent the rest of the morning teaching me how to look cute while siting, other ways to look cute while standing, and other cute things I'm to scared to get into. Finally, the sun began to come up, and I was near collapse. I hate contests, and all of those who like them. I hate appeals, and all of the preparation that goes into them. Also, I discovered I hate pink pokeblocks, after Robin fed me about a dozen of them. They are to fucking sweet! Who could eat them? I wanted something sour, but no, sour isn't cute!

"Alright, I didn't give you this yesterday" Robin said, rummaging around in her bag, "Because I wanted to keep it a secret for today, aha!" Robin pulled a long, pink scarf out. "These scarves are only given to pokemon who best exemplify one of the five contest categories, pink is cute. I bought this from a coordinator over a year ago. Since they judge you on appearance today, this will get you big points. Also, it doubles the point value of each cute-type move" Their was no way in hell I would let her put that thing on me. "I wasn't sure the scarf was allowed, but I checked the rules, and it is fine to use it"

Robin sat the scarf down beside me, along with the a new collar and two new ribbons. These ribbons were black and white, while the collar was black with a polished white tag. "Now, I've got to show you my outfit"

"A giant neon sandwich board" I asked, "That says MORON, with an arrow pointing at yourself? Or is that to much to hope for?" Robin pulled out a small, vacuum sealed plastic bag from her travel bag.

"This is how I store nine suits. Of course, they constantly get dirty so I have to replace them. The shoes take up the most room of the bag" Robin sat the plastic bag down, pulled out a set of shoes (the left one black and the right one white) and sat them down beside the suit. As she pulled off her pajama top, I could see she had a tank top on underneath. For a second, I could see her stomach, and a long pink scar on it, but I dismissed it as nothing. What ever it meant, that was Robins' story, not for me to know. She then dropped her pants, and unzipped the plastic bag.

"This is my special, contest suit" Robin said, as she unfolded the suit jacket. "For me, wearing a pants suit is like putting on a superhero out fit. I'm bullet proof in it, and I can almost put my arms in the air and fly away"

"Are you out of your mind?" I asked, as she buttoned up the jacket. "It's just a suit, and to be honest, you look really stupid in it" Robin began to pull on her pants. "And a special contest suit? Who the hell has a pants suit special for contests?" Robin pulled on both of her shoes, then put on gloves I hadn't noticed before. She turned back to me, and smiled.

"What do you think?" Please be a rhetorical question

"Yamma-hamma, fright night!" I cried. Robin was wearing one of the strangest suits I had ever seen. The right side of the jacket was white, while on the left side, from the buttons on, it was black. The pants were a mirror image of that, with the left leg white and the right leg black. The shoes were like the jacket, and the gloves were like the pants. My God, she looked like a chess piece! She couldn't possibly be thinking of going out in that, right?

"I think it's a great suit, what about you?"

"You look like you stole it from Twoface" I cried.

"Wait, there are two other parts of this outfit" Robin reached into the bag, and pulled out a hat, a fedora to be exact, half black and white. "And, to complete this" She pulled out a white collar, with a polished black tag. On the tag, was an old fashioned R. "This way, I'll match with you" Oh God, we're going to match! Now I did cry. "I bought more sparkly stuff for your fur. It'll take a while to get it all in. Now, let's make you pretty."

* * *

Michael ended up not sleeping at all that night, while both Titan and Rush slept like nothing happened (though Rush could sleep through a hurricane). He spent all night thinking about Robin and me, more specifically what Robin was doing to me. Even though he thought of some rather disturbing images, none were as bad as when me and Robin practiced turning my head for an hour and a half. Finally, relief came when the sun rose, and a second person knocked at the door.

"Oh thank God. Robin! Robin!" Michael cried, as he rushed to the door. He flung it open, to reveal Lisa standing there. She smiled, and his face dropped like a stone in water. "Oh, it's you"

"You know, it really makes a girl feel good to be greeted by, oh its you" Lisa said as she walked inside. "So, where's Angel?"

"Well, Robin took her to train with her" Michael said, as he closed the door.

"Oh right, the pants suit girl. When do I get to meet her again?"

"If you're lucky, when they're throwing snow balls in hell" Michael mumbled, as he walked past Lisa, over to the glass door that lead out to the small balcony.

"Oh, she can't be that bad!"

"She dyed Angel pink!" Michael cried, jumping around. "She's a brain-dead cement head"

"Then why did you lend Angel to her?"

"She's the lesser of two evils" Michael said. "Donny is a bastard, he made Angela miserable"

"I've asked you this several times, who is Angela?!"

"I'm sorry Lisa, but it's to personal. Maybe I'll tell you later" Lisa nodded.

"Well, when ever you feel you can" She sat down on the bed, scooped Rush up and lay him on his back on her lap. Rush smiled in his sleep, and Lisa smiled at this. "Okay, well I have another question for you. How long has Rush been in love with me? Since he saw me or what?"

"What?!" Michael laughed, "Rush isn't in love with you"

"Sure he is. I figured it out when I held him the first time, and he nuzzled against my boob. Rush may be in love with me, but he is as subtle as an atomic bomb" Lisa giggled, "But he is so cute"

"Alright" Michael said, sitting down beside them, "Assuming Rush is in love with you, how do you feel about him?"  
"Well, it is sweet, but pokemon aren't really my thing" Lisa said. "I have no issues with gender, but I draw the line at species" She bent down and kissed his muzzle, and Rush rapidly kicked in the air with all legs.

"So, just out of curiosity" Michael began, "No one else in our group is in love with you, right"

"Well, Titan I don't know. Angel seems to hate every thing. You're hung up on some one, and Louis is gay, so"

"Wait" Michael stammered, "Louis is gay?" He thought about this for a moment, and decided to have fun with it. "You know, you're right, he's just not to open with it. You should help him find a man"

"I should?"

"It would be the right thing to do" Knock-knock-knock. "Oh thank God" Michael rushed to the door, to reveal Louis, Enfer, and L3. "Damn it!"

"Nice to see you to dude" Louis said. "Where's Angel?"

"Robin abducted her, what do you want?"

"Poor Angel" Enfer mumbled. "I hope Robin isn't doing something stupid. Then again, I'm betting against the odds with her"

"I wanted to see what you guys were doing, the contest begins at nine" Louis said, "And it's all day. Imagine how many drinks I can put back"

"The thought scares me" Lisa said.

"Excuse me, is this a bad time?" Robin asked. Michael didn't respond, just ran over and scooped me out of Robin's arms. I nuzzled into him, so glad to be away from princess of pain. "We have to be there a half an hour before the contest, so I knew you would want to see Angel before then"

"You must be Robin" Lisa said, going over. "Well hi, I'm Lisa" Robin looked at her for a second, and smiled.

"You wouldn't happen to be Lisa Jeffries would you?" She nodded. "I knew it! The vanishing champion! I saw you battle on TV once"

"Really?"

"Yeah" Robin nodded. "I didn't like you, you weren't good"

"Always nice to meet a fan" Lisa said, fake smile plastered on her face. She turned, and as she walked by Michael, she whispered "I hate her"

"Told you" Michael held up something tied around me. "Why is their a pink scarf tied around her waist?"

"It makes her cute" Robin said, "Trust me, it's purely strategic. Well, we've got to go" She grabbed me before I could dig my claws into Michaels' arm, "We'll see you there"

* * *

"Alright" A woman in a head set said, "You stand here, beside the other three coordinators, when they call your name, walk down the runway, understand?"

"Yeah, I've got it" Headset nodded, and ran off. The stage was much larger, and they had set up a large runway, with the judges stand at the end of it. Beside us, to the left, was Donny.

"Donny is surprised to see you here" He said, "Donny assumed you would have given up out of fear of Donny kicking your ass"

"Oh Donny, why don't you just do every one a favor. Uncurl your bat wings and fly away" He scowled.

"Donny says Angel isn't cute. Donny knows his Eevee is cuter" Donny opened a pokeball, and another Eevee popped out.

"Oh dear God" It was shiny. Robin sat me down, so I could greet it.

"Eevee is going to kick your ass" It said. What fun.

"What's its name?" Robin asked.

"Donny doesn't give his pokemon name. His pokemon should be grateful they get to serve Donny"

"I suppose I could understand that" Robin said, "When they work with you, they look foreword to death. You've eliminated their fear of death"

"Ladies and gentle men" The MC said, "Welcome to day two of the third annual Slateport Open Contest"

"Where is Louis?" Michael asked, as he and Lisa sat Titan down on the dented bench.

"He said he was getting more drinks, I think he want's a repeat performance of yesterday" Lisa said. She sat down, and Rush jumped in her lap.

"Where is Virgil?"

"He stayed in my room, he didn't sleep last night, so I left him"

"Hey guys!" Louis called, followed by Enfer, "Look what I got" Instead of a bunch of drinks, he was holding a silver hip flask.

"What is that?" He smiled.

"The bar tenders were so impressed by what I did, they all chipped in and bought me this titanium flask" As he sat down, he handed it to Lisa to read.

"To Louis 'The Man' Adalian, 57 drinks in one day" She laughed.

"Well, every one has to be good at something" Enfer said. "Some people are world leaders, some are atomic scientists. Louis can drink like few can"

"Guys, guys be quiet. Angel is up"

"The winner from the B-block" The MC said, "Please welcome Robin and Angel"

"Alright Angel, remember to sashay" Oh God. I held my head up, praying no one could see me, walking down the runway sashaying left and right. Robin did it in the opposite rhythm as me, waving to the crowd.

"Alright, I'll give Robin that" Michael said, "She may look like a reject from Alice in Wonderland, but Angel does look cute" They introduced the C and D-block winners next, before shuttling all four of us off stage. They then brought out the rejects from yesterday, and spent the next three hours picking out four to fill the four empty slots.

"The main contest will begin in one hour, so stay right here" The MC said. We watched this from a TV in the preparation room. I kept wondering how today could get worse.

"Donny is looking foreword to beating you" Donny said, as he came over to talk to us. Now I know.

"Oh shit" I mumbled, turning to see shiny Eevee in front of us. "What do you two morons want?"

"Eevee want's to know what your strategy is" It said, "Eevee figures you can tell us now, and save a lot of embarrassment when Donny and Eevee kick your ass"

"Can't you to leave us alone for five seconds?" I asked.

"Eevee knows Angel wont do any thing about" That's all Eevee got out, before I hit it with a small shadow ball. I then jumped on its chest, and began to headbutt Eevee until it bled.

"Get your savage off of Donnys' Eevee" Donny cried, as he scooped Eevee up. "Donny ought to beat your face in!"

"Robin says, BRING IT ON!" She screamed. Before they began to beat each other to a pulp, the TV turned back on.

"Look, their announcing the tournament listings" The pictures of all eight coordinators appeared, and were moved to various places on a large bracket. "And the first match is"

"Us, versus Donny?" Robin asked. "Oh boy"

"Donny will be looking foreword to it" He said, before bending over and whispering "cunt" in her ear.

"We have to beat him" Robin whispered, as we watched Donny walk off. "We have no choice, we have to kick his ass"

"Us vs. Donny" I mumbled, "What fun"


	26. Victory

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XXVI : Victory**

"Robin and Angel are up first, thank God" Lisa moaned. "I can't take any more"

"You're the one who wanted to go to contests in the first place!" Michael exclaimed, "Or did you forget that?"

"I wanted one contest, not two hundred! For the love of God, its people pulling out cute pokemon to do the same routines over and over and over again! I can't take it!"

"Why not be like Louis, he's happy!" Louis and L3 had identical expressions on their faces. Eyes glazed over, mouths hanging open, drooling slowly. Lisa smacked him across the face. Nothing.

"What is the matter with him?"

"Oh, Louis gets this way when he gets drunk and really stoned" Michael said.

"Stoned? I've never seen him get stoned"

"Ever since he got L3, Louis has had to eat his pot. Weren't you the least bit curious why he left L3 here and went to the bathroom for 23 minutes?"

"I choose to believe the best in people, and I must say this simply wont do" Lisa said, "I'm a member of the war on drugs!"

"Louis marched against that" Michael said, "Besides, he needs drugs. You've never seen him with out them"

"How bad is Louis?" Titan asked Enfer.

"Some where on par with living through your own death"

"Why is he that way? I barely know the guy, but he's always got his lips around a bottle" Enfer frowned.

"Louis got me when he was nine. A year later, his mom ran away. Even at the age of ten, he was emotionally destroyed. He relayed heavily on me as an emotional crutch. He started smoking that year, in a few years he took up drinking, and the year after that he turned to light drugs" Enfer sighed. "To be honest, he could be a lot worse. If I weren't around, Louis would have started using heavy drugs, and over dosed a long time ago"

* * *

"Now please welcome to the stage" The annoying MC said, "Robin and Angel, and Donny and Eevee" I ran out on stage, followed by the walking black and white cookie. If I had hands, I would have shielded my face. Of course, if I had had hands, I probably wouldn't be in this mess. Donny came up on the other side, with his shiny Eevee in front of him. They were smiling to the crowd, light reflecting off his oddly white teeth.

"What do you think of Donnys' special contest costume?" He asked Robin. In addition to the three piece suit, Donny was now wearing a top-hat, a cape, a monocle, and was carrying a walking stick.

"You look like Mr. Peanut" Robin said, "Do we get our free snacks now, or what?"

"Donny has no relation to the salty snack man" Donny said, "Donny looks dashing in his contest outfit. Donny is the love of every woman, and the envy of every man"

"Delusions of grandeur. Isn't that a sign of early on set mental illness?"

"Fuck you"

"Where on earth does some one get a cape? I sort of asked Eevee.

"Eevee doesn't think she should speak to the competition" We have a gender!

"The coordinators will each perform five appeals, at the end, the coordinator with the most points will be declared the winner" The MC blathered on. "Robin and Angel will go first"

"We're up" Robin said, "Later boners" The two of us walked onto the run way, in front of the judge. "Alright Angel, cute attacks are double, tough attacks are ¼ their normal value. To start the ball rolling, growl" I hung my head in shame, and let out a pitiful growl. Me, the almost great trainer, reduced to being a contest pokemon.

A sentence I never thought I would say.

"Okay, those glowing hearts are the appearance score, the score they got before coming out here" Lisa said, "Angel had four, and Eevee had zero. I guess because Angel and Robin matched"

"And Donny looks like a train conductor from the 1850's?" Michael responded.

"GO DONNY" A voice screamed. Michael, Lisa, and Enfer turned to see Angela2 standing up, waving a flag. "KICK THAT SKANKS ASS"

"Does that flag have Donnys' face on it?"

"I'm afraid to ask" Lisa responded. "Uh, miss? Could you please keep it down?"  
"Fuck you whore" Angela2 yelled.

"Whore, that's not a nice thing to" Angela2 tossed a water bottle with out a lid at Lisa, and hit her in the skull. She fell flat on her ass, with a thud.

"Owe! That hurt!" Rush and Louis both snapped to action.

"Some one hurt my goddess! I must defend her!" Rush exclaimed, jumping off of Lisas' lap. Louis stood up, and untied L3.

"Michael, hold my Slakoth"

"Shouldn't you stop him?" Titan asked Enfer.

"It's better to let him work out this stupidity on his own"

Louis jumped over the benches, and was about to tackle Angela 2. She flipped around, and hit him in the stomach with the end of her flag. Angela2 then jumped on his chest, and began to punch Louis in the face. By this point in time the audience, along with me, Robin, and the judge were watching this. Rush attempted to jump onto Angela2, and she smacked him away with the back of her hand. He hit the cement wall, and was knocked out.

"That's it, I'm mad" Before Michael could do a thing, Lisa was up, and jumped onto Angela2. She flipped Angela 2 on her stomach, held both her arms with one hand, and pulled her head back with the other.

"Auuugh! Let me go you fucking freak!"

"First, apologize for calling me a whore" By now, security was running up the stands, but they wouldn't get there soon enough at this rate.

"Iiiiiiieeeeeee! I'm sorry"

"Now apologize for hitting Louis in the stomach"

"Soooooorrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyy" Angela2 cried.

"Now apologize for smacking Rush"

"Sorrysorrysorry" Angela2 continued to weep. Lisa nodded, but before she could let go, two men in security T-shirts grabbed her. They then grabbed Angela2, and hefted Louis off the floor. One of them picked Rush up and held him by his head fin.

"Awe crap, they won't involve me, will they?" Michael asked him self. Lisa spoke to one of the security men, and pointed to him. "Yes, they would" One of the security people, the one holding Rush, came over.

"Excuse me, do those people belong to you?" The entire audience was now looking at him. Michael tried to slump down, except he was sitting on a bench.

"Well, this Mudkip belong to me" He said, taking Rush, "As for them" Louis and Lisa waved, "I've never seen them before my life"

"You're going to hell Luccelli!"

"I've thought about it, I'm willing to roll the dice" As the three morons were dragged away, Robin and me walked back to the stage.

"That was one of the strangest sights I've ever seen" Robin mumbled. I just shook my head in shame.

"Uh, let's move on to the first appeal of Donny!" The MC said.

"Donny would be happy to" Donny said, walking to the edge of the runway. "Eevee, take down"

"That's a tough move, it'll only earn half points" Robin said, "What is he planning?"

"Uh, that was interesting" The MC said.

"The voltage went down, and Robin has eight points, Donny has two" Michael murmured, stroking Rush.

"Alright, now us" Robin said, as we walked back out. "Sand attack Angel" I tossed sand (where did it come from) into the air. Every one applauded. Morons.

"Donnys' turn now" Donny said, rushing down the run way and knocking me and Robin out of the way as he did. "Donny has been waiting for this, so the audience could see Donny, and his brilliance. Donny is brilliant, isn't he?"

Self absorbed, conceited asshole. Why on earth did I date him again? He shaves his head for Christ sake!

"Donnys' Eevee is special. Aside from being shiny (lucky bastard), her mother was an Espeon. Donny knows what you're thinking, so? Well, Eevee whose mothers are Espeon have a higher potential to learn psychic type moves. Knowing that, Eevee use embargo"

A wave swept through the crowd, as Eevees' eyes lit up. I felt the wave hit me, and the scarf around my waist untied its self. Now, the first thing embargo does is it eliminates all held items. They become null and void. So my scarf is no longer doubling points. The problem is though, embargo does a second thing in contests. The voltage can't go up for the next coordinator.

"Alright, two points" Michael said, "That's what he was waiting for?" Donny waved at the crowd, and did some weird pointing thing, as he returned to the stage. Eevee wasn't much better, the stupid puff ball kept doing back-flips as she ran. Every one laughed and clapped, morons.

"You're victory is mine Robin" Donny said.

"Your fly is open, Donny" As he looked down to check this, Robin and I walked bucket, laughing the entire way.

"Okay Angel, use" Robin froze. "Uh, use, use the uh, the attack"

"The attack? What the hell is the attack? I can't use the attack, you use the attack" Robin just stared, her lips moving silently.

"You only know five attacks, and you only know three cute moves" Robin whispered. "I can work with that, Angel use hidden power" I nodded, and fired all of the little white balls out of my neck. For some reason, the crowd stayed silently.

"Another interesting, uh, move" The MC said, "That's an Eevee that is obviously very talented"

"The name is Angela" I snarled.

"Donny isn't surprised you would use a lack luster move" Donny said, "Donny will laugh hard when he wins" Robin though, stayed silent. As much as I hate to admit this, she did seem to know what she was doing.

Now, a little information on the move hidden power. In a battle, it can be one of sixteen types. Those principals apply to the contests, it can be one of any five types. That being said, it isn't affected by the nature of the pokemon. Instead, if a pokemon is holding a scarf, hidden power becomes that type. If no scarf is held, it becomes normal type.

"Let's finish our plan, Eevee use attract" Little pink hearts shot out of Eevees' body, and fluttered around the audience. People laughed and touched the little hearts, before they popped, and fluttered away as pink energy confetti. Cute, so sugary cute your pancreas was over loaded just watching. Robin smiled at this, and knelt down beside me.

"This is our final move Angel" Robin said, scratching me behind my right ear, "If it works the way I expect it to, Donny will actually doom him self" With that, she stood up and began to walk down the run way"

"Nervous yet?" Donny asked, giggling as he spoke.

"Donny, in sixty seconds I'll have won, and in two minutes, you'll be crying" Robin and me got to the end of the run way. "Alright, Angel, just use tail whip"

"How is that going to win for us?" I asked. But, I did the stupid appeal anyways. The crowd cheered, and Robin bowed! She had to hold onto her black and white hat, before turning and walking back.

"Now it's Donnys' turn!" Donny cried, shoving Robin aside so hard she fell on her ass. He stomped on my tail, and I screamed and jumped a foot in the air.

"Angel!" Michael exclaimed, "I'll kill you Donny" Sweet guy. He was willing to kill my ex for me. This made me smile, along with thoughts of Donnys' head on a pike.

"Donny knew Robin would fall for Donnys' trap!" Donny exclaimed. Yeah, we're going to fall for a trap you talked about every other minute. "Now it's time for Donnys' last appeal, with which Donny will grasp the sweet fruit of victory!"

"I never dated him!" I yelled, "And we didn't do it six times. Would I do it with this freak?!" Denial is the best solution.

"Eevee, use last resort" Eevee glowed brighter then the sun, and did a sort of tackle. Last resort's point value starts out at two, and increases by two every turn. Seeing as it was the fourth turn, the value was eight. On top of that, if you used it, it was your last appeal. If I calculated correctly, Donny would also have the voltage meter hit maximum, and release a shit load of points! We were fucked!

"Donny wins, Donny wins" He began to do touch down dances, "Even if Robins' pokemon knew last resort, they couldn't win"

"Uh genius?" Robin called, "You didn't get the voltage meter. I didn't use all cute attacks"

"Yes you did" Donny snarled, "You used sand attack, hidden power, and growl"

"You're contest skills are good, but you're battling skills suck. If you knew any thing about attacks, you would no embargo doesn't just stop the voltage meter, it also negates all held items" Robin held up the scarf. "Hidden power went back to being a smart move. You forgot about this, and you doomed your self. Since you used last resort, that was your last appeal, and I still came out on top, and I win" Donnys' jaw dropped. He looked at the judge, who nodded. Then he exploded.

"YOU CAN'T BEAT DONNY, DONNY HAS TO WIN" With that, Donny burst into tears, and ran off the stage crying, followed by Eevee.

"Uh, with that, Robin wins" The MC said, a bit confused by the events.

"I win? I win!" Now Robin began to do a victory dance, "And all by my self, no one else, all me! I'm awesome, I'm awesome"

"All by your self, by your self this" I muttered. I fired a small shadow ball at Robins' left heal, which shattered on contact. Robin tried, and fell into the MC. The MC was able to keep her balance at first, but got so badly tangled in her microphone wire, she jerked the wire out and the two fell off the stage.

"Huh. So I got to beat my ex, and beat up Robin?" I smiled. "I think I do like contests"

Ten minutes later, the two of us sat in the preparation room, Robin grooming me a little more.

"We did great Angel" Robin said, "We're going to go out there, kick ass, and win us a ribbon"

"Yeah, nothing can stop me" I said.

We ended up getting forth place. But, we got to beat Donny in the process, so it was more then worth it.


	27. Endless Night

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XXVII : Endless Night**

Tagger was more intelligent then the lower men. His superiority spoke for its self. When ever Tagger walked into a room, he owned the room, and all people in the room. Although the world could not grasp that people were not special, and thus murder was justifiable if done right, Tagger could grasp that. What Tagger could not understand were humans, little more then insects scurrying about on the face of the earth. He couldn't understand why the lower-men had thrown him in prison, when his logic of his actions on the bridge were undeniable. He couldn't understand why that whore-slut Anna had hidden Chris from him. Finally, he couldn't understand why this insect of a man was poking him.

Tagger couldn't rent a boat to get to Dewford, they didn't except cash and it would leave a paper trail. This would have been horrible, except they regularly ran a ferry to Dewford, once every week, and they took cash. They also ran a ferry to Slateport, should his mind lead him there. Tagger had bought a book by an author who he suspected of being special like him, and taken a seat on the side of the ferry. He propped his feet up on the railing on the side of the boat, and he could see the ocean. The chopping waves calmed Tagger. A ways down was a woman, sitting and staring at the ocean. She looked bored. This would have been a simple trip, except…

"Hello!" A fat man said, taking the seat beside Tagger. Tagger, who was already 500 pages into his book, didn't acknowledge the man. The man took this as a signal that Tagger couldn't wait to talk to the man. "What's that book about?" Tagger didn't look up. "What's it about?" He began to poke Taggers shoulder.

"A murder" Tagger growled, hopping that would stop the poking. He was considering killing the man, but the woman on the other end of the boat might notice. The man continued poking.

"What's the book called" He whined. Tagger mumbled a series of obscenities.

"The Brothers Karamazov" The man kept poking.

"Which character do you like?" Tagger gripped the book so hard he put his fingers through the first 200 pages.

"Ivan and Smerdyakov" Tagger snarled. He kept thinking, _why is this lesser man talking to me? A special, super man, I should be treated with respect_! The man kept poking him though, and as he did, the woman stood up and left.

"Hey, what's your name?"

"Listen, do you hear that?" Tagger asked.

"What?" The man replied, putting a hand to his ear. He leaned foreword in his chair, trying to listen to a sound that wasn't there. Tagger grabbed him by the back of his skull, and slammed his head into the metal railing four times, until blood flowed down his face from a wide gash. He then flipped the man over the railing, into the water. The man didn't make a sound, as he was sucked under the boat, and red water flowed out. Tagger was about to go back to his book, when a buzzer sounded, signaling their arrival in Dewford.

If Tagger could have experience glee, he would have been bursting as he walked off the boat. _Where to go now, where do I go?_ Tagger thought to him self. As he passed the town side, reading A Tiny Island in the Big Blue Sea, he reached out and touched it.

It hit him like a sledge hammer to the head, a vision overtaking him. His mind was leading him some where else. He could see a town on the beach, a light house. Slateport. Next, Tagger could see a hotel, built right on the beach, although he couldn't see the name. Tagger was pulled to the top of the hotel, into the hall, until he came to a door with a polished number 9.

"I know where Angela Duncan is" Tagger whispered, as his vision returned.

* * *

The contest didn't end until after seven, because we had to sit through the closing ceremony, and watch them give a ribbon to some deutsche with a faux-hawk. After the stupid contest, Robin (now limping slightly) took me back to Michael. Lisa and Louis were still missing, and Michael was now looking after L3 (how much effort does it take to look after a living sock puppet). Regardless, he was nursing her on my old bottle, and she had her stalk like arms around it.

"Why are you guys still sitting in the stands?" Robin asked, "The contest is over"

"I need help" Michael said, as he sat L3 down (still holding the bottle) and gestured to Titan in the bench. "He's kind of stuck. Can you?"

"No problem" Robin said, as she set me down. I looked at Titan for a moment, trying hard to contain my laughter.

"What are you laughing at?" Titan asked, "There is nothing to laugh at about me. I'll have you know, I wanted to be stuck here! It's part of my plan to have my way with you"

"No offense" I said, "But you might have botched your plan slightly, because you're going to have trouble having your way with me from that angle"

"Oh Angel, give him a brake" Rush said, peaking up from behind Titan, "He can't help it if he's essentially a concentrated ball of weight"

"Thanks Rush"

"Forget about them" Enfer said, appearing behind me and causing me to jump. "How did you enjoy your first contest?" Michael and Robin began to pull Titan.

"How did something as big as you get behind me, with out me noticing?"

"I'm talented like that, how was your contest?" I groaned.

"I hate contests" I said, "And I hate coordinators. But, I got to watch Donny loose, and watch Robin fall off stage, so I was happy" Robin and Michael fell backwards, but successfully dislodged Titan. He hit the cement with a hard CLANG.

"Alright" Robin said, "The Newton Restaurant is giving free meals to all coordinators. What do you say, we pretend you're a coordinator, and get some free food?

We ended up seated in a corner booth of the place, each coordinator given a plate of some gray substance considered food. It was free, not good. Another thing was they gave all coordinators pokemon free food. I had started eating solid foods a week ago, and you know what I discovered?

Pokemon food tastes like packed sawdust. It may be little pieces, but it still tastes like sawdust. It doesn't matter how much sugar, or crushed berries you put on it, it tastes like shit. On top of that, I had to eat it out of a bowl, at Michaels feet. How degrading. I almost wish I could go back to being nursed.

"Robin, why don't you let your pokemon out?" Michael asked, as he touched the quivering gray substance. "You can give them a free meal, and give them some time out"

"Nah, I like leaving them in their pokeballs" Robin said. "They know I love them, but that's how I feel. Leave 'em in as long as possible"

"That's horrible!" Michael exclaimed, "What about a little gratitude?"

"What about gratitude?"

"You're pokemon are your strength! You would be nothing with out them!"

"I'll have you know, pokemon battling would be the same, even if their were no pokemon" Michael nodded.

"Well, by that logic, I should be able to use any attack a pokemon has" He held up his hand, "Flame-thrower! Nothing"

"Of course nothing" Robin said, "Every one knows flame-thrower comes out of your mouth" Finally though, she surrendered, and let her pokemon out on the floor with us.

Now, I didn't want them out, since it would be three more pokemon I would have to interact with. But I didn't get a vote, as the three shapes appeared on the floor.

"Yay, more pokemon to talk to!" Rush chirped happily. He ran over to Robins' blue (how the hell did she get that?) Electrike. "Hey, you're an Electrike!"

"Yeah, I am"

"But you're blue"

"Don't remind me" It said, its head sinking low. The voice appeared to be female, so I'll go with she. "I'm a freak"

"Hey, you're not a freak!" Rush said, "I'm blue and I'll tell you, it's wonderful! All the cute things in life are blue" Rush giggled, "Ms. Lisa has blue eyes"

"What?"

"You're blue fur makes you stand out! It makes you original! If being a freak mean you're original, so be it!"

"I agree" She said, "I like you"

"My name is Rush" I turned away from this. At least they were having fun. I turned, to see Robins' Bagon talking to Titan. Titan was still eating (a feat considering he had no mouth as far as I could see) but he would look up every minute and talk back. The Bagon appeared to be telling a story.

"So, we walked beside the rocks, I mounted her, and I took her" Bagon said.

"Full penetration?"

"Yeah"

"Awesome" What a story it was.

"Morons, they're both morons" I said to my self.

"You know, you shouldn't criticize you're team mates" I jumped around, expecting to find Enfer. No such luck, Enfer was on the empty part of the booth, asleep. Instead, I found that Ralts staring at me, although I couldn't tell what its expression was due to its helmet. "They'll be with you until the end of your journey"

"An end that can't come fast enough" I said. I think the Ralts was smiling. "I'm sorry, what gender are you?" Now he was laughing.

"I'm male, but thanks for asking" Ralts said. "Before you ask, I don't have a name"

"You don't have a name?" I asked, not believing it.

"Not in the traditional sense. Ralts are not named with words, Ralts are not creatures of words but emotion. Our names are given by emotion" His horn began to glow slightly, "This would be my name" A calming tidal wave rolled over me, and my legs buckled by how beautiful it was.

"Oh my Gooooooood" I moaned. "Okay, I might like Ralts now" He smiled.

"Why are you so unhappy?" What is it with pokemon, and my unhappiness?

"I have no idea what you're talking about"

"Okay Angela, I'm psychic, not stupid. Also, I was able to hear your past and every thing, so I know who you are"

"You looked into my mind!"

"No, I herd who you are, there is a difference. I just can't explain it. It wouldn't have mattered though, you're obviously miserable, and even though I heard your past, I can't figure it out"

"Alakazam have an IQ of 5000" I growled, "And all you can do is use horns to hear me" Yeah, that stupid Ralts was right, I was miserable. I just didn't know why.

"Well Angela, I want to tell you something" Ralts said, "I know that you committed suicide, and I want you to know you're not worthless. If you ever start to feel like no one cares again, Michael cares. Rush cares, Titan cares" He reached over, and out its white arm over my shoulders. "And I care" Now I was crying.

As I cried, Michael and Robin talked and picked through gray goop.

"I wonder what Donny and Angela2 are doing" Robin asked, "I saw them earlier, Donny looked like he was going to jump off of the light house"

"Man, I don't want that" Michael said, sighing. "I mean, I can't stand the guy, but even I don't want that"

"Eh-hem" Robin and Michael looked up, to see a very pissed off Lisa and Louis standing their. "I have a bone to pick with you" Lisa said.

"Oh right, that's what I forgot" Michael said, "I forgot to get you guys"

"We noticed" Louis said, as he made the two of them scoot over, so they could sit down. Michael had to pull Enfer up, and draped her over his and Robins laps. "So, you told Lisa I was gay"

"No, she assumed you were gay, I just didn't disagree"

"You told me to help him find a man" Lisa said. "and then you left us to rot in a holding cell"

"You could have left earlier" Michael said, "You chose not to"

"We did leave earlier" Lisa said, "We had to go back by the hotel room to get two things" Michael felt one of those things against his neck, as Virgil appeared from no where, claws fully extended.

"If you ever do that to madam again, I'll kill you" Virgil whispered.

"You went back to get Virgil to kill me?" Lisa and Louis both laughed.

"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't use Virgil" Lisa said. "Remember how I said I had written fifteen books? Well I was carrying 17. Two are hollowed out. One holds my makeup kit, a pair of spare gloves, and on old exp. share, I figure you can use it later" She reached into her bag, and pulled out a huge book. "The second holds Sasha" She opened the book, and we were greeted to the sight of a 357. Magnum.

"Oh my God, you've got a gun!" Michael stuttered.

"A girl needs to be safe" Lisa said. As they freaked out about her gun, I continued to talk to Ralts.

"Any ways, I know I'm near evolving, and I'll evolve into Kirlia. But I want to one day evolve into Gallade, not Gardevoir. Except, Robin doesn't have a Dawn stone, and I don't know where you would get one"

"Yeah, where" I said nervously, looking at Michaels' bag on the floor. "I can't help you there" Suddenly, Ralts bolted up right"

"I feel something coming, something strong"

"Please don't" I said. When I noticed Ralts wasn't moving, I sighed. "Hello not Meowth"

"How did you know it was me?" The Meowth creature asked.

"The world freezes. The supernatural decides it's time to ruin my day. That's your calling card"

"Look, I'm not here to torment you today" It said, as it made its way around to see me, "I'm just here to talk. Tonight is an endless night, and you need to remember every thing you see today, and every thing you have seen. It'll keep you alive in the future"

"Oh what fun" I sighed, "I suppose I get to meet the nightmare man tonight"

"Whose the nightmare man?" Ralts asked. Not Meowth was gone, of course. I needed to change the subject, and fast.

"You said you wanted to evolve into a Gallade?" I walked over to Michaels' bag, and used my teeth to pull a small zipper part open. I reached in, and pulled the Dawn stone out with my teeth, before tossing it to Ralts. "Can you hide that?"

"Yeah, I can"

"Well, hold it until you need it. But, one day, you'll owe me, and I'll collect" Ralts nodded.

"Now that we've gotten over the shock of seeing my gun" Lisa said, "Michael, can you switch rooms with me?"

"Why on earth would I do that?" Michael asked.

"My room makes weird noises, and it's got a weird smell"

"You just make it so appealing"

"Pleeeeaaase. If you don't, I'll have to ask Louis" Michael sighed.

"I'll think about it. Louis, I gave you my key card since I don't have pockets, can you give it back?" Louis reached into his pants, but as he handed over the card, some one else came over.

"Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise?" Donny asked. Every one at the table groaned. Angela2 was behind Donny, cowering. He looked down at Michaels key card, with his room number on it, upside down. "You're staying at the Slateport Tower? Donny is staying at the Ocean Breeze. Donnys' hotel is better then Michaels'"

"To bad Donnys' coordinator skills suck" Robin said. Donny scowled at this.

"Donny was unlucky. Donnys' skills have won Donny countless ribbons"

"I take it it was those same skills won you eighth place?" Michael asked. Donny smiled, trying hard not to jump on the table and strangle Michael.

"Well Robin, where is you're wonderful Angel? Donny want to see her again"

"Donny, Angel isn't mine"

"She's mine" Michael said. "I lent her to Robin to, uh"

"Beat Donny?" Donny snarled.

"If you say so, yes" With this, Donny let out a scream of rage, and grabbed Angela2, before fleeing. The two ran out of the restaurant, and down the street until they came to the beach. Donny fell down on the sand, and started sobbing.

"They took every thing from me" He screamed, braking character. "Michael stole Angela, and drove her to suicide. They stole my ribbon, and my reputation" Angela2 sat down beside him, and wrapped her arms around him.

"You still have me" Donny nodded in his hands.

"It's not enough, I need more" He looked up. "I need to kill Michael Luccelli"

"Well, I think it's time I go" Robin said. By now she had withdrawn her pokemon, and it was near eleven. I was almost asleep, and both Rush and Titan were. Michael had returned them to their pokeballs, only so it would be easier to move them. "I'm leaving Slateport tonight"

"Tonight? It's eleven!"

"We're in the middle of a heat wave, night is the best time to travel" She said, as she maneuvered her way out of the booth. Before she left, Robin bent over the table and kissed Michael on the cheek. "I'll see you around" Bag slung over her shoulder, Robin walked away.

"I wonder how she'll walk any where in one shoe" Lisa said.

"Uh-uh" Michael said, not listening, holding a lingering glance. "I uh, guess we should go to"

* * *

Later, lying on our bed, Michael was staring at the ceiling with one light on. I was on his chest, barely conscious, and fading fast.

"Remember everything" Not Meowths' words rang out in my ears.

"Fuck you" I mumbled. I felt Michael move me off of his chest, along with Rush, as he stood up to brush his teeth.

_

* * *

_

Nobody noticed the killer entering the hotel, because one thing the killer knew how to do, was look like they belonged. The bellhops scurried out of the killers' way, even though it was near midnight, the hotel was always busy. The killer had to rely on that. The ability to get lost in a crowd.

_Getting their hands on a gun was easy, with lots of tourists in town, their was a lot of crime. They simply bought a gun from a man in an alley, with the serial numbers melted off. Getting their hands on a key card was more difficult, but simple enough. All of the hotel workers carried one, so all they had to do was wait until one wasn't paying attention, or until they found one sleeping on the job. Then they simply reached into their pocket, and took it._

_The killer was wearing a thin, hooded shirt. Even though it was inappropriate for the weather, no one noticed. The killer pulled the hood over their head, as they entered the elevator. There are cameras in elevators, no one needed to see what was coming next._

* * *

"I wish I had you all alone" Michael sang to himself, as he brushed his teeth, "Just the two of us" He spit out, sat down the tooth brush, and grabbed the hotel mouth wash. _This stuff is like acid in your mouth, _Michael thought, but he did it any ways.

Michael needed this time alone right now, to go over the days events. Every thing that had happened recently was rattling around in his head, like a couple of marbles in a tin can. No more contests, that was good. They were leaving Slateport tomorrow, that was better!

Robin. Her splotchy face filled his mind instantly. Why was Michael thinking about her, he hated her, and her callous treatment of Angela. Yet, when he watched Robin walk away, he felt something. Not concern, or even caring, but something.

_I'm probably losing my mind_ Michael thought, as he rinsed out his mouth.

_

* * *

_

They had to be on the top floor, the killer thought to them self. Being on the bottom floor would have been to easy, the killer would have been able to get away easier if they had been on the bottom. No suck luck. This was okay though, even some what exciting. It was a challenge, one the killer happily excepted. The killer would take the stairs on the way down, no cameras in the stairwells.

_The elevator dinged, and dumped the killer out on the top floor. At most hotels, the left side would have odd numbered rooms, and the right would have even. Here, the left side held all numbers 1-15, and the right 16-30. The killer walked until he came to a row of doors, six, seven, and nine._

_Rooms six, seven and nine held the target, the model and the stoner. The eighth room was being remolded, its door was missing and their was a saw horse partially sticking out of it. The killer had to hope the occupants of the other rooms on this hall were asleep. Not wanting to waist any more time, they quickly slide the key card in and out, and slowly pulled the door open._

* * *

"What was that?" Michael asked, looking over his shoulder. "Sounded like the door opening" When he heard no more sounds, he shrugged, and flipped off the water. Michael walked over to the door, flipped the bathroom light off, and opened the door.

_

* * *

_

Even though the killer could not see his face (the turned off light had turned him into little more then a black outline) his surprise was palpable.

_"Hey, what the hell are you doing here?" The killer raised their gun, holding it in both hands. They fired once, twice, three times, the bullet making the sound of ricocheting metal on the last shot. He let out a gasp, and fell to the ground, dead. Others would soon be out, but it didn't matter. The killer dropped the gun, and was out of the room and into the stair well in a matter of seconds._


	28. Killer At Large

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XVIII : Killer At Large**

The night music of that night I still remember clearly, like I was listening to it today. The ocean waves, the dripping of something in room eight, and gunshots. Three gunshots.

"What was that?" Michael asked, looking over his shoulder. "Sounded like the door opening" When he heard no more sounds, he shrugged, and flipped off the water. Michael walked over to the door, flipped the bathroom light off, and opened the door.

"Hey Michael" Lisa whispered, leaning against the wall.

"Hey Lisa, what do you need?"

"I just wanted to know, if we could switch rooms"

"Didn't you switch with Louis?"

"Six had a weird smell, and seven is right next to that room they're renovating. I can smell paint through the wall. If you're worried about your pokemon, they can stay. Enfer and L3 are still in my room, Louis made me promise not to move them"

"Lisa, it's late, and I" Three gun shots rang out, causing Rush to jump in the air, and waking me and Titan up.

"What was that?" I groaned. Slowly, I shook my self completely awake, and jumped off the bed, followed by Rush and Titan. Michael and Lisa cautiously walked into the hall, slightly afraid of a mad gun man. Every one was peaking out of their rooms, including Virgil, Enfer, and L3 from Lisas' room. They were all looking at the same thing.

The door to room number six was open, and their were wisps of smoke coming out of the room. The door to the stair well was closing, but we didn't see who had run into it. Lisa and Michael, followed by the rest of us, carefully walked into the hallway, all of the other people on our floor watching as we moved silently. As we passed room seven, Virgil and Enfer joined us, L3 laying on Enfers' back. For once, L3 seemed to be wide awake.

Louis' room was completely dark, and the smoke seemed to appear out of the darkness, with out a source. Michael took one step into the door way, and flicked the lights on.

"Oh my God" Laying in the door way for the bathroom, was a pair of legs. Every thing after that seemed to happen in slow motion. We were running to Louis, and were greeted by a horrifying sight. Louis was on the ground, his head propped up against the toilet. Louis, his eyes closed, laying in a puddle of blood. A streak of blood was on the toilet, from where he slipped down. Clutched in his right hand, on his chest, was a largely dented flask, the one Louis had been given as a gift. The air smelled metallic, and the smell burned my nose and made my eyes water.

Michael didn't say a word, just stood up, and bolted out of the room. Now, I wasn't there for this, so this information is second hand. Michael threw open the door to the stair well, his mind blank with rage. From where he stood, Michael could see a figure, possibly a man, in a hooded shirt, running down the stairs.

"HEY! HEY FUCKER!" Michael screamed. The hooded figure looked up, but the hood completely blocked out their face, with the exception of a few strands of black hair. Michael wasn't thinking at all, as he jumped down the first flight of stairs, hitting the landing. He jumped down the second, this time he tripped on his feet as he landed, and slammed his head on the wall.

When Michael stood up, the shooter was already on the bottom floor. When he began to move again, the shooter was out of the stairwell, into the lobby, and soon out of the hotel and into the night.

Michael limped slowly, back to where the rest of us stood over Louis. Lisa had already called an ambulance, and others had called the police, but weren't going to until Lisa screamed at them to. Enfer and L3 were both crying, and even I was hurt inside. Rush and Titan were both silent, while Virgil, well who knows with Virgil.

"He's still breathing" Lisa said, "I only count one bullet hole, in the shoulder, but I think he was shot in the head. I" She looked up, her face shining with streaked tears, "I'm so scared"

"I know" Michael whispered, as he hugged the sobbing woman. It took them six minutes to get Louis, since we were on the top floor of our hotel. They put him on a stretcher, and we followed in the ambulance.

* * *

Later, we waited in the hospital lobby, Titan and Rush both asleep. Virgil sat beside Enfer, leaning into her, possibly going over the events in his mind. It seemed unreal, Louis was shot. Louis was young, and despite his drug usage, he was to young to be shot. Michael held me in his lap, petting my fur unconsciously.

"I keep thinking" Lisa said, "I just keep thinking if I was in there, if I hadn't switched rooms, it would have been me" Don't think that Lisa was being selfish. When something like this happens, people say you think about the person it happened to. The truth is, when there is a tragedy, the only thing you think about is your self. Mostly, about how it could have been you. Another thing is, these incidents often cause you to be temporarily grateful for your life. It doesn't last. "I also can't figure, why was no one willing to call the police" Michael laughed.

"On March 13, 1964, Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death in front of her apartment building, her assailant attacking her for half an hour. 34 people heard her being attacked, saw her, knew she was being killed, but chose to do nothing. Each one said that they assumed the other guy would do something, but the truth is they either didn't care, or were unwilling to get involved. If some one had called, Kitty would have most likely lived. At least we were able to get an ambulance"

"The police are going to want to talk to us" Lisa said, "After they finish talking to every one else. If Louis end up okay, he'll be able to tell us what happened. I want to know, who shot him"

"Donny" Michael said, "It was Donny"

"The guy Robin beat in the contest? He was a creep, but"

"But nothing. Donny is the guy" Michael snarled.

"Could it have been Tagger?" Virgil whispered to Enfer.

"No. Tagger is cold, calculating, and smart. This was to sloppy for Tagger, it's Donny. He is the guy" Enfer whispered. "If Louis dies, I'll kill Donny"

"I'll assist you Enfer" Virgil said. "He went after one of us, he went after all of us. He has to die"

"Why did he go after Louis though?" Lisa said, "That's the main thing the keeps me from agreeing with you, that it was Louis"

"We figure that out, we nail Donnys' ass" Michael said.

"Michael Luccelli?" A doctor called. Michael handed me over to Lisa, and headed over to the doctor.

"What can you tell me"

"It's actually not that bad" The doctor said. "Louis was shot once in the shoulder, although from what you've told me, three shots were fired. I don't know what happened to the other two. Well, the shots caused him to fall back, and slam his head into the toilet. Your cousin hit it with enough force, to cause a deep gash in the back of his head. This is where most of the blood came from. Well, we stitched that up, and pulled the bullet out of his shoulder. If you want, we'll take you to see your cousin, but the police are there right now"

"I don't care, take us"

Michael recalled Rush and Titan, before we were taken to Louis' room. When we got there, it was a happy/sad sight. Their were two police officers talking to him, and he didn't seem to know what was happening.

Louis was laying in a bed, a giddy expression on his face. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and his left arm was in a sling. Bandages were wrapped around his head, and an IV was in his left arm. High dosage pain killers for Louis. He looked up when we entered, smiling even wider.

"Heeeey guys! They said I was shot. Is that true?" We all couldn't help but laugh at this. One of the police officers looked at us.

"We've been questioning what your cousin remembers about his shooting"

"I remember a black figure" Louis said, "Then my shoulder was on fire. Then, I woke up here, and they told me I was shot"

"Have you figure out anything officers?" Lisa asked.

"Well, we know three shots were fired, aside from that, nothing. Their were no witnesses, and we currently have no suspects" Of course not, as sloppy as this was, some of the shrewdest crimes take lots of police to catch them. Just for the record, I'm not bad mouthing the police. I have a lot of respect for the police, and if I couldn't have been a trainer, that is what I wanted to be.

"I might have one for you" Michael said. The silent cop pulled out a note pad, as Michael continued to talk. "His name is Donny, Donny Bakler. He's staying at the Ocean Breeze motel"

"Why do you believe"

"Donny is seriously, mentally ill. A friend of mine, Angela Duncan, used to date him. When they broke up, she suspected he was stalking her for awhile. He is a coordinator, and he lost a contest yesterday. This made him go berserk"

"Why would he" The cop began, before Michael interrupted.

"Donny blamed me for him and Angela braking up. Why he shot Louis, I don't know"

"Alright, we'll look into it" The cop said, in a tone that implied he didn't believe us. "We'll need to talk to you later, but we'll leave you alone with your cousin" With that, the two of them left.

"Hey man, are you okay?" Michael asked, tears in the corners of his eyes.

"Eh, it hurts a little, but I'm okay" Louis rasped. "They gave me some really nice shit. Where's Enfer and L3?" Enfer pulled her self up beside Louis, and Lisa draped L3 across his chest. "Hey guys, I missed you two" Louis said. Both Enfer and L3 were crying.

"They hurt you daddy" L3 whispered, her little claws flexing, "I don't want you to be upset"

"Oh guys, don't be upset. Lisa, you have your books?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Read to us" Louis said. "I don't want to think about this, read to us Lisa" Lisa smiled, reached into her bag and pulled out a book. She then began reading.

* * *

It was around six-thirty, when we finally got out of the room. Louis was asleep, L3 and Enfer with him. He had seemed at peace, and was really enjoying the drugs. We were only leaving to get a little cleaned up, and get something to eat. Michael didn't want to leave at first, but Lisa convinced him. We got back to Michaels room, and Lisa collapsed on his bed, followed by Virgil.

"Don't you have a room?" Michael asked.

"I can't go in there now" Lisa said. "If it weren't for me, Louis wouldn't have been shot. I asked him to switch rooms, it's my fault? Do you know what that feels like? To be responsible for some one getting hurt" Before Lisa could start crying again, Michael spoke up.

"Yes"

"What?" Michael smiled, and sat me on the bed, before sitting down. Lisa sat up, pulled me onto her lap, and started petting me.

"I should let these guys out" Michael whispered, looking at Rush and Titans pokeballs. "I'll do it later, Lisa, it's time I told you what happened to Angela"

"Are you sure?" Both me and Lisa asked. I was listening intently, this would tell me exactly what Michael had thought of me. Unconsciously, Michael pulled out his hotel room card, and began flipping it in his fingers.

"Angela was my next door neighbor" Michael began, voice strong. "I had known her since I was eight or nine, I can't remember. Any ways, I was in love with her. If this were a romance story, I would have fallen in love with her on first contact, but it didn't work that way. Instead, I grew to love Angela, as time went on.

"Angela had come from a toxic home, with two drunks for parents. We called them the drunken Duncans. They treated her like shit, and gave her a very nasty phobia of the ocean, although she never told me how they gave it to her. Well, when ever Angela was having a bad day, she came to me, and vented.

"It was actually this venting that made me fall in love with her. I saw in her, this unbreakable spirit, an absolute optimism, masked by chronic cursing. When the drunken Duncans refused to let her be a trainer, she said that one day she was going to be the greatest trainer ever, just to spite them. A little cynical, but I liked it.

"Earlier this year, Angela began to get depressed. Really depressed. It happened after I told her that I was leaving in a few months for my trainer journey. The last day I saw her, I offered to take her with me, I wanted to so desperately. By that time, Angela was completely destroyed emotionally. She went into her house, and s-she killed her self" That was all Michael could get out, before his voice gave out.

"Oh, I'm so sorry" Lisa said. "But you can't blame your self"

"I have to, it was"

"It was not your fault. She was the one who decided to end her life. Not you, Angela did it'

"I don't know, I have to blame my self a" Michael looked down at the key-card in his hand. He had stopped flipping it, and was now holding it upside down. The large nine, now looked like a six. "Oh my God, I know why Louis was shot!"

* * *

The police called for Michael an hour later. I was left with Lisa in the hotel, while he went to talk to the cops. Once again, second hand information. Michael was taken into an interview room, and left alone for a few minutes, before the cop from earlier came in. He was holding a file folder.

"Well Mr. Luccelli, we investigated the name you gave us"

"That's what I wanted to talk about!" Michael interrupted. "I figured out why they shot Louis" He held up his hotel key-card, "Donny saw this key-card, in my hand yesterday. I was holding it upside down, my room was nine, he saw six. Louis was in room six"

"Mr. Luccelli, please!" The cop exclaimed. "We wanted to tell you, we have removed this Donny as a suspect" The cop reached into the folder, pulled out a picture, and sat it on the table.

"What is this?" Michael asked. It was a picture of Donny, in an elevator.

"This is a freeze frame from ten minutes before your coursing was shot, of Donny taking an elevator up to his room. We have confirmed from his girl friend, who was waiting for him, of his arrival. Even if we didn't have this, the Ocean Breeze is on the other side of Slateport. He could have never made it to your hotel in time"


	29. Who Done It?

****

National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help

**XIX : Who Done It?**

Michael could no longer hear the cop, as he stared at the picture of Donny. The only thing he could here, was the sound of his own heart, louder then an explosion. He touched the picture, fingering it, trying to see the flaw in it. Their was no flaw, and the picture told no lies.

"Do you have any questions?" The cop asked? Michaels' head jerked up.

"H-how did Louis survived"

"I figured you would answer that. I only just found out my self. Three shots were fired. One, missed completely and hit a wall. One, hit your cousin in the shoulder. The last one was the kill shot, it should have hit your cousin in the chest, piercing him through the heart. Instead, this deflected it" The cop held up a plastic baggie, that Michael hadn't noticed earlier. When he saw it, he couldn't help but laugh.

The hip flask, the engraved one Louis had been given as a gift. It now read, Louis the Ma Adalian.

* * *

"They broke my flask!" Louis cried.

"I've got a question" I said, "What were you doing in the bathroom at midnight, with a hip flask?"

"Oh lighten up Angel" Rush said, "He's been shot"

"So I've heard" I growled. We were all in Louis' hospital room. Lisa and Michael stood around his bed, while me, Rush, Titan, and Enfer sat on the floor. L3 was curled up on his chest. Virgil was somewhere, you never really saw Virgil.

"If I had known that, I wouldn't have gotten shot" He giggled, "But if I had known I was getting this" He shook the IV, "I would get shot again"

"Don't get used to it" Lisa said, "They've pulled the bullet out, you can come home with us tomorrow"

"But, I was shot!

"They said the stitched in your arm will dissolve on their own" Michael said, "And you'll have to wear a sling. Aside from that, over the counter pain pills they said will be fine for you" Louis nodded.

"I don't except it" He began to sit up, "Come on, you've got to help me smuggle this out of here"

"You want to steal your IV? How do you expect this to work?"

"I've got an idea" Louis said.

"No you don't" Enfer replied.

"You guys tie ropes to the top of the hospital. Then you rappel down the side of it, smash my window, and take my IV. You then use your jet packs to fly back to the hotel" As Louis finished, the rest of us just stared, jaws open.

"I think you've had to much" Lisa said, "The medicine is going to your head"

"Why are you always here?" Virgil asked Enfer, causing her to jump as popped up behind her.

"How do you do that?"

"Does it matter?" She shrugged.

"I guess not" Enfer sighed. "What do you mean by always here?"

"You never leave Louis' bed side, why? He was shot by accident. You don't need to guard him, you need to help Michael and Lisa find out who shot him"

"Tell me Virgil" Enfer said, "If Lisa had been shot, what would you do?" He didn't even need to think about this.

"I do the same thing. The exact same thing" A few minutes later, we left. This time, Virgil stayed with Enfer.

"So what do we do now?" Lisa asked, as we headed out of the hospital. Titan had asked me the same question moments earlier, and the answer remained the same.

"I don't know" Michael said. The two of them slumped down on a bench beside the hospital. Michael picked me up, while Lisa picked up Rush. Titan got screwed.

"I've gone through it in my head" I said, Rush listening, "Donny is the only person who could have shot Louis, who would have had a reason, trying to kill Michael. But he couldn't have done it! It's impossible, and impossible crime"

"I don't know about that" Rush said, "It's only impossible if Donny shot Louis. Take Donny out of the equation, or at least not have him be the one pulling the trigger"

"He could have been pulling the strings" Lisa said to Michael, "But their was no way he shot Louis. Think, who could have done it?"

"Well" I said, "The first person that comes to mind is, uh" Lets see, do I tell Rush about the nightmare man? Tell him about the death of the drunken Duncans, and make him think I'm crazy? Eh, I'm a human re-born as an Eevee, the crazy writes its self. "Well, there is this man I've seen in my nightmares" Now Rush looked concerned.

"Who is it?"

"I don't know who he is, and I've never seen his face. I can see him though, and I think he can see me. His is the nightmare man. He kills people, and I think he's coming to kill me" I said. "To be honest, I don't know"

"Okay, does he know you're an Eevee?"

"I don't know"

"Does he know where you are?"

"Don't know" I'm a gold mine of information, aren't I? Rush nodded at this last statement.

"Well, who knows, maybe the nightmare man did shoot Louis. Maybe he didn't. Now if you don't mind, I have to liquefy" Rush's limbs then went limp, as he literally turned to goo in Lisas' arms. His head fin wagged back and forth rapidly, out of happiness. Moron.

"I say we go to the Ocean Breeze" Michael said, "Speak to Donny"

"How on earth would that help things?" Michael shrugged.

"Couldn't hurt. I mean, we could speak to Donny, he might slip something up. Maybe he manipulated Angela2, except she said she was there to see Donny get up to the hotel room, I don't know. Nothing in this makes sense, if it weren't for the bullet in his shoulder, we would have no proof that Louis was even shot!"

"This would be so much more easy if Louis remember who shot him" Lisa said. "But then, life would be fair to us. That can't happen, can it?"

"Can't happen to any one, but it's actually better to us I think" Michael said. He sat me down on the ground, and stood up. "Come on, lets go"

* * *

"What do you mean you can't tell us Donnys' room number?" Michael asked.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Bakler has checked out" The receptionist said to us, "It's not that we can't tell you, it's that he's not even here" Behind us, out side of the hotel, a large group of people had gathered, all staring up. We didn't notice this.

"What do we do now?" Michael asked Lisa, as we headed out of the lobby.

"I guess that we" She noticed first, squinting in the sun light. "Uh, what's with all the people?" Now Michael noticed.

"Huh. Excuse me sir" He nudged on the first guy he came to, who jumped as he did.

"What do you want?"

"Well, what is every one starring at?"

"Are you stupid? Look, theirs some one on the roof!" Now we each looked up at the roof.

"I can't see anything" Titan growled, his head armor preventing him from looking up. He wasn't missing anything.

Standing on a ledge, was a figure, I couldn't determine gender. They were wearing a hooded sweatshirt, with the hood pulled over their head, but I could see strands of black hair hanging down. Their arms hung limply, and like the crowd, they didn't make a noise.

"It's, it's the shooter" Michael stammered.

"Are you sure?" He nodded. So this was the infamous shooter. What the fuck do we do now?

"We have to get up there" Michael said, "And we have to go now"

"Why?"

"Well, a bunch of people have pulled out cell phones and are calling the police, so if we want to talk to them, we need to move" With that, we took off, running into the hotel, past the receptionist (who made little effort to stop us), and into the stair well, until we came to the door for the roof. Michael grabbed the knob.

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"Wait for me!" Titan called from the bottom, unable to get up the first step. Michael nodded, and threw the door open.

The sun light and heat hit us like a hammer to the face, almost knocking me on my ass. The hooded figure didn't even turn around to look at us, they just kept staring at the crowd. The crowd had now grown to include hotel employees (it's a great morals that motivates employees watch some one kill them self, instead of helping them down).

"Hey" Michael screamed. The shooter did nothing. Lisa tried to hold onto Michael, but he shook her off, "Hey you! You're the one who shot my cousin. What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"He said he loved me" The hooded figure said, in a barely audible voice. Rush turned to me.

"Did you hear that?" I nodded. My giant ears let me hear any thing, but more importantly, it let me recognize who is was.

"Who said they loved you?" Lisa asked, hand over Michaels' mouth. We took one step foreword.

"He said he loved me, so I killed for him. He said he loved me, so I shot your cousin, thinking he was you" We took another step, and another. "I wanted to kill you, because of how much I loved him" The police arrived as she revealed this, but they wouldn't get up fast enough.

"Who loved you? Who did you love?" We were almost with in grabbing distance. The killer was now sobbing.

"I lied to the police. I said I was here, and they believed me, because I had no motive. But, then when he found out I had shot the wrong one, he told me he didn't love me. He told me I was shit" She sighed, "And I am" She jumped.

"NO!" Michael, Lisa, Rush and me screamed. Lisa and Michael jumped, and grabbed her by the shirt, slamming belly first into the ledge, holding her. I bit down on her shirt, as did Rush, and we slowly pulled the sobbing girl back. She didn't fight against us, but she didn't help us, all she was was dead weight.

Some how, we managed to pull her all the way up. By now, she had quit sobbing, and seemed catatonic. Michael pulled the hood away.

The black wig fell off of Angela2s' face, as she stared at us blankly.

* * *

The police put the girl in hand cuffs, but it didn't matter. If you saw that look, you knew what meant. It meant she wasn't coming back.

Michael and Lisa told them every thing, while me and Rush told Titan. The police decided that Angela2 had shot Louis by her own free will, and that Donny not only had nothing to do with it, they weren't going to look for him, or offer us any kind of protection.

"IDIOTS!" Michael screamed, as we watched the police cruiser pull away.

"Don't blame them, theirs nothing they can do"

"Nothing they can do! They could have bothered checking to see if Angela2 was actually in her room! Every thing got fucked up because they didn't bother to check if she was lying"

"Something doesn't make sense" Titan said.

"What do you mean?" Rush asked.

"Well, you guys said she said that Donny dumped her because she shot the wrong one"

"She was raving"

"I don't think so. I think Donny was manipulating her. What do you think Angel?"

"Huh?" I asked, only just noticing them.

"Do you think Donny was manipulating that girl?"

"Uh, I uh, don't know" I said. "I was thinking about something else" Actually, it was all I was thinking about. Titan and I had come to the same conclusion. It had to be Donny manipulating it.

"Okay Michael" Lisa said, "You told me that Donny is obsessive and crazy"

"Yeah"

"Well, obsessive and crazy people don't generally give up" Lisa said. "I think I might be able to help you take down Donny. But we wont have the police help. Interested?"

"Yeah, I am"

"Good" As we walked on, Donny watched from a distance. He smiled, and occasionally felt the long, sharp knife in his pocket. A silent weapon, for a silent kill. It didn't matter if the police knew it was him, he would do this for Angela.

For his Angela

* * *

Donny walked silently through the hotel that night. The only thing that fool Deborah, that lousy skank, had done right, was bring back the key card. Now, if some one is killed or maimed in a hotel, by some one who stole a master card, the hotel is supposed to change all of the key readers on the doors, and order new cards. The process is expensive, and it costs even more money to shut the hotel down for a few weeks to change every thing. Well, it's easier to say you did, and do nothing.

Even a few days later, the hotel went on like nothing happened. At midnight, the people were all asleep. If Donny had been in that hotel, he would have been up all night thinking about some one being shot! Knowing their was still a killer loose. Donny snickered at their stupidity.

Donny passed room 6, shuttering as he did. Stupid upside-down key-card, this could all be over if Michael had just held his room card the correct way! Oh well, he could think of Michaels' failure (one of many) later, deal with them now.

Donny swiped the card, and pushed the door open gently, careful not to disturb the residents of the room. He could see Michael outlined on the bed, under the covers, and a lump on him, probably that stupid Eevee. Their were two pokeballs on his nightstand, probably holding the other two pokemon. Donny closed the door slowly, with as little noise as possible. He moved silently, until he came to Michael. Almost euphorically, he pulled the knife out, and raised it over his head.

"This is for Angela, you took her you bastard" He brought the knife down, and stabbed Michael in the chest once. Then a second time, and a third.

"Having fun Donny?" Michael asked, reaching up and flipping a light on. Donny jumped around, knife in hand, to see Michael with me on his lap, sitting behind the door. Donny scowled.

"You killed my Angela. You took my ribbon away from me. You sent my girlfriend to jail. I've decided I've had enough, so now I'm going to kill you"

"Come one step close, and I'll have Angel here shadow ball your head" Michael said. "Why did you make Angela2 shoot Louis?" Donny giggled. He was so crazy now, he had even stopped referring to him self in the 3rd person.

"I was the only one with a motive to kill you. I figured, if I had an alibi, the police would never be able to connect not Angela. Well, I was correct, they were to stupid to figure she lied!"

"That's all I needed to hear" Michael said, wrestling into his pants pocket, and pulling out a piece of plastic. "You got that Lisa?"

"Got it" She said from the cell phone.

"What are you doing?" Donny asked.

"Well Donny, Lisa is on a three way call with the police" Michael said, "Who have heard every thing you've just said. In a few minutes, they'll be here to cart you away. You will go to prison, where they will most likely tear you a new asshole"

"You can't do this to me" Donny said, slowly moving to the side.

"Yeah, well you shouldn't have…"

"Hey, he's moving!" I exclaimed in a series of Vees. Michael ordered a shadow ball, but I didn't need to be told. I fired, but Donny jumped to our nightstand, and jerked the table lamp out of the wall. The shadow ball missed, and Donny threw the lamp at us.

The lamp smashed where Michaels' head was, as we dove out of the way. Michael flipped on his back, landing in the bath room, and I landed on my back. Donny had enough time to get his knife, and came after us, as our door pulled open.

"Michael!" Lisa cried, as she ran at Donny before he could stab Michael. She grabbed him, but he slammed his elbow into her nose. Blood spurted every where, as Lisa fell into the hall, knocking her head in the doorway, and knocking her self out. Michael though was able to flip around, and stand up as Donny wasn't paying attention, instead admiring his handy work.

"I'll have to kill you later" He murmured. Michael tapped on Donnys' shoulder, and as he turned around, Michael punched him across the jaw.

Donny fell on his back, as the knife flew out of his hand, and over the bed, bouncing off the sliding glass doors for the balcony. Michael jumped on Donnys' chest, knees extended, knocking the air out of Donny.

I slowly pulled my self back to my feet, and stumbled back out. Michael turned, and smiled at me.

"It's okay Angel, no reason to be scared" Michael said to me. Donnys' fist came up, and knocked Michael off and on his side. He was only down for a second, but that was all the time Donny needed, as he was up and running, clearing the bed in a single jump. As he bent to pick up his knife, Michael jumped on his back. Rather then try to shake him off, Donny jerked his body, and ended up flipping Michael, smashing him through the glass doors.

Michael let out a groan, tried to move, but couldn't and passed out on his back. Donny, who was bleeding from the side of his face, had a crazy smile on his face. He raised the knife up, glass crunching under his feet.

"STAY AWAY FROM HIM YOU SON OF A BITCH!" I screamed. Using quick attack (learned by all Eevee at level 22) I ran and jumped at Donny, mouth opened. Alright, these little teeth in my mouth are considered fangs, so lets treat them as such. I bit down on Donny, hard.

Donny screamed, and shook me rapidly. I wouldn't let go though, even as blood filled my tiny muzzle. But I couldn't hold on forever, and finally I was thrown against a wall, sprawling to the ground. With this task complete, Donny returned his attention to Michael. He bent down, and tapped the knife on his nose.

"You know, I'm really going to fucking enjoy this" Michaels eyes shot open.

"Enjoy this fucker" Michael snarled. His hand, with a shard of glass in it, slashed Donny across the throat.

Donny went bug eyed, jerking up and dropping the knife. His hands went straight to his throat, and he began to run around the balcony. Michael pulled him self up, and watched Donny, blood flowing down his neck, as he hit the balcony railing and went over, not making a sound until he smashed into the ground below.

I shook my self awake, and got to see Donnys' end. I wasn't sad, I wasn't hurt, to be honest, I wasn't any thing. Slowly, I walked out onto the balcony, the pads on my paws being cut by the glass pieces. Michael had his back pressed against the railing, he seemed to tired to stand up. When he saw me, he dropped the glass piece.

"Angel" I made my way to Michael, and got into his lap. He embraced me, and I licked him across the nose. Michael held me, neither of us saying a word, as police sirens filled the air.


	30. Aftermath

****

National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help

**XXX : Aftermath**

They had to pry me out of Michael's arms, almost with crowbars. Then, the moment they separated us, I decided to be the baby pokemon I was and scream bloody murder, until they gave me back. The police lead us out of the hotel, not in handcuffs, past Lisa who was sitting up, trying to remember what happened in the last few minutes. The moment we got out the front door, hundreds of camera flashes lit up the night.

"How the hell did the reporters get here?" Michael asked me.

"Every time something big happens, they sniff the air, smell scandal, and come running" I mumbled, snuggling into his chest. They continued to flash cameras, and attempted to shove microphones in our faces, until we were in the police cruiser.

* * *

The police held us for questioning for only a couple of hours, because they would never be able to arrest Michael. Officially, they wouldn't be able to arrest him because he helped kill Donny because he did it in self defense. Unofficially, it was because to arrest Michael would be to admit the police were outsmarted by a sixteen year old. Better to cover it up, rather then humiliate your self.

We got back to the hotel around one a.m. The reporters were still there, they had been waiting for us. Some of them had brought tents to camp out in front of our hotel. By now Michael was extremely pissed off. Donny had tried to kill him, the police had taken us to be questioned, until way past midnight. When we got back to the hotel at last, we were both sick of this shit, we did not need these fucking reporters. Well, when one of them jumped in Michaels face, this one a TV reporter, and waved a microphone around, Michael ordered a shadow ball from me. After that, the reporters parted like the red sea.

Lisa had actually arrived back around the same time as us, and she was waiting in the hall for us. When she had fallen back, she cut part of her head pretty bad. The problem was, the doctors weren't sure weather or not she needed stitches (she did not) so to check, they had to shave a little hair. Lisa looked really creepy with one eye-brow. Creepy or not, it made me and Michael laugh, which is exactly what we both needed after this night.

"How are you doing?" Michael smiled.

"How do you think? I heard one of the reporters ask me if I was high, when I cut "Dennys' throat" He slumped against the wall, pressing me against his chest. "But it'll be okay, I get to live with the knowledge I killed some one for the rest of my life"

"You did that in self defense"

"Whatever" Michael mumbled. "Look, I'm tired, I'm going to bed. I haven't let Rush and Titan out of their pokeballs, and I just want to be with Angel, can you take them?

"No problem. It'll be good without Virgil" With that, we were finally able to go to bed. We had to sleep in Louises room, because ours had a big hole in it. Just being in it, we could hear the gun shots ringing out in our heads, smell Louises blood. Sleep didn't come till later, and only for Michael, I ended up awake all night long. Even though Michael was asleep, he tossed and turned, knocking me off his chest repeatedly. I could feel his heart beat racing through his chest, going a mile a minute. He mumbled something occasionally, and would reach his arm up, but grab at nothing.

"You'll have to talk to the reporters at some time" Lisa said to Michael, as we walked into the hospital, "Might I recommend when we get back to the hotel?"

"Why on Earth would I need to talk to them?"

"Did you see the front cover of the Slateport Light this morning? Did you see what they did to you with out speaking to you?"

"What did they do?" Rush asked Titan.

"I don't know, I can't read"

"Neither can I" I grumbled. Fucking Mew, taking away my ability to read. As I would eventually learn, the front page read BESERK!, including the tacky exclamation point. Underneath it was a picture of Michael, covered in blood, as he walk d out of the hotel. The blood was added. Now, Michael hadn't had a chance to tell his side of the story, and more people are just going to see the front page rather then read it. If you saw it, would you think Michael had just defended him self from a psycho? Or, would you think he had just gassed up the chain saw and gone on a killing spree?

* * *

When we got to Louises room, he was lying on the bed, fully dressed, right arm in a sling. L3 was passed out beside him, Enfer and Vigil were lying against each other on the floor, asleep. Louis still had his IV in his left arm, except their wasn't a band-aide securing it. Rather, it looked like the doctors removed it, and Louis put it back.

"Hey guys" Louis said, high out of his mind.

"The doctors said we could take you back" Michael said, "I'm amazed they didn't remove the IV"

"Uh, about that. They did, I put it back"

"LOU!"

"Alright, alright" Louis grumbled, "I'll remove it, just one thing" He reached, but instead of removing the needle, he just pulled out the plastic tube. Before we could stop him, Louis had it in his mouth and started sucking.

It took five more minutes to wrestle the IV from Louis. Another thirty to get his high butt out of the hospital. When we got back to the hotel, the reporters were there in droves, still waiting.

"It's about time you talked to them" Lisa said. Michael let out a frustrated cry, and nodded.

Having a conversation with a reporter, it's kind of like having a conversation with the Riddler. If you ask a question, you get a question back. Reporters can only ask questions, and if you don't answer correctly, you'll be misquoted and taken out of context. The problem is, their questions all have several answers, and there is only one correct one.

I'd rather not talk about the interview, simply because it was a black mark not just on reporters, but on the human race as a whole. Questions ranged from Michaels' religion, to if and how frequently he would masturbate. One question had to do with the incident, it was "why do you think the police covered up you murdering that boy?".

"That was horrible" Michael said, as we sat on Louises bed, with every one (a lot of people for one bed.

"I never want to deal with reporters again" I mumbled.

"Oh, be happy, you looked cute" Rush said.

"I don't want to look cute. Call me cute again, I'll hurt you"

"You looked sexy" Titan said.

"Well uh, but still no Titan"

"We watched the interview on TV" Louis said, "You got slaughtered"

"It was embarrassing" Enfer said. "I felt so sorry"

"You know he can't understand you" I said. Enfer stuck out her tongue.

"It doesn't matter" Enfer said, "We give our sympathies, and we're nice to them any ways, even if they can't hear us. Right Virgil?"

"Yeah" I looked at Virgil, then at Enfer, then back again.

"You know, you two have been spending a lot of time together, and agreeing a lot lately. Why is that?"

"No reason" They said in unison. Yeah, like I believe that. I sighed, and flopped my head down, trying to sleep. Michael began to stroke my long ears.

"Don't touch me" I growled.

"You know what I was thinking, when Donny was trying to kill me? I wasn't thinking about me" Michael smiled at me, even though I couldn't see it. "Donny through Angel against a wall. He almost broke your nose Lisa. He shot Louis, or he had Louis shot. All I was thinking was, Donny hurt you guys" He bent down and kissed my furry head, crap, "He hurt my Angel. That made me angry, angrier then when my parents wanted to put me in therapy, angrier than when Robin dyed Angel pink"

"Robin dyed Angel pink?" Lisa asked. Louis shrugged.

"That did happen? I thought I was high"

"Angel, I can't begin to use words" Michael said. "How do you explain happiness without words? It's just, I was there when Angel was born" His voice began to falter. His words came out above a whisper. "It was the day she died"

"I'm she now?" I mumbled.

"When I saw Angel born, it felt like I was the one who brought her into the world, and I knew that Donny would kill her. My thoughts were, what gave him the right to do this? What gave him the right to play God, to hurt her just because I loved her? That made me so furious, that I had to do what ever it took to stop him" Michael sighed. "Alright, it's time to stop thinking about this, or else I'm going to get really depressed. I want out of Slateport tonight, no matter what it takes. Let's go by their market, buy supplies, then get the hell away from this city"

* * *

We went to Slateport market for supplies. Their had been a shooting earlier in the day, and six people had been killed, so the blood suckers, err, reporters ran off to deal with that. So now we had a little peace, except.

"You" The angry merchant screamed at Michael, "You're the boy who killed that poor coordinator, I want nothing to do with you, get the hell away from me, I hope you burn in hell"

"What did you do?" Louis asked.

"I asked for change" Michael said, slightly stunned. We shrugged, and moved on. The crowed parted as we walked all of them scared of Michael. Louis was confused, Michael was embarrassed, I was amused, and Lisa was scheming.

"Alright, they're scared of you" Lisa said, stroking L3 (Louis was to sore to hold the Slakoth). "I have an idea" She grabbed Michaels' arm, "Come with me"

"This will be a bad idea" I said, sighing.

"Why, Ms. Lisa thought it up" Rush said, little hearts replacing his eyes, drool dripping out of his mouth, "How could her idea be bad?" How bad could the idea of the woman who suggested swimming from Dewford to Slateport be? Well genius was dragging Michael over to a table of TMs.

"Do you mind going?" Enfer asked Virgil, "You know, just in case?"

"No, I don't mind" I watched this, confused.

"I don't understand this" I said, "Why does Enfer ask Virgil to do his job" Titan laughed at this for some reason, until I looked back, honestly confused.

"You really don't get it, do you?"

"She doesn't get it" Rush said.

"Get what" I whined. Titan nudged me, to look at Lisa and Michael.

"Alright, now what's this?" Lisa asked, pointing to a TM on the table.

"That's uh, that's TM 43, secret power" The shaking merchant said. "It uh"

"I know what it does" Lisa said, "We'll take it. But, we're going to take it on the hush-hush" Lisa reached for it, but Michael slapped it out of her hand. For this, Virgil slashed him across the legs, but he didn't notice.

"I can't believe you wanted to steal that" Michael grumbled, as he grabbed Lisa and dragged her away, Virgil following close behind, "I nearly get killed and"

"You've got this power over people" Lisa said, "Imagine what you could do with it? You can get free stuff, free favors from people"

"Rule the world" Michael said sarcastically, "I'm honestly embarrassed, I meant stealing goes against my conceives, the eighth commandment, the" Michael stopped, causing Lisa to walk into him.

"Owe! What was that for?" Michael ignored her, and walked over to a table covered with books. Slowly, his hand reached out to one book that called to him. When he touched the cover, it tingled. The cover read, "Re-born as a pokemon ; reincarnation and the role of legendaries in Christian, Jewish, and Islamic mythology". Michael grabbed it as fast as he could.

"How much?"

"I don't get it, why did you buy that worthless book?" Lisa asked, as they walked back to us.

"It wasn't worthless" Michael said, "It called to me" They got back to us, and Louis had just finished getting baked in public. Some one had come by to ask about the joint, and Louis had his response ready.

"I'm cousin of Michael Luccelli. Maybe you've heard of him, crazy mass murderer?" Thank God when Lisa and Michael finally got back. "Hey dude, what did you get?"

"Nothing" Lisa sighed, unconsciously stroking L3, "We could have gotten tons of stuff for free, but then Michael had to have a conceives"

"Hey, where's Enfer?" Michael asked. Me, Rush, and Titan looked around for a moment.

"How did something 300 pounds and five feet tall sneak away?" I asked. Louis looked around for a moment, before exclaiming,

"There she is" Enfer was standing in front of a table, covered with ceramic figures. Behind it was an old crone, who was probably alive when Arceus was born. She seemed to be talking to her, and the crone seemed too be talking back! "Enfer!" Enfer turned and saw us, and returned.

"What was that?" I asked her.

"Personal" Enfer said in a whisper.

"Ta-ta Anna" The crone called, "Take care" With no more distractions, we were finally able to get out of this cursed port.

"To Mauville" Some one said.

"To Mauville" We cheered.

* * *

Angela2, now Deborah, was a broken woman. The police had released her, deciding it just wasn't worth it, so many people had been hurt in this mess, and she wouldn't have shot Louis had she not been under Donnys' control. They had released her with her black wig, and she didn't have a clue what to do next.

Deborah was wandering the beach, wig on her head. She had to pause every few steps to breathe. Donny was dead, and nothing really mattered any more. She wanted to kill Michael, more then she could put into words, but at the same time she just couldn't do it. Finally, with nothing more to do, Deborah dropped on butt on the beach, looking at her self in the ocean.

Tagger had finally arrived in Slateport, after having to wait extra time just to get a boat. Now, for all he knew, Angela Duncan could be any where, except he could see her sitting on the beach. What were the chances?

He had to move silently, the only thing worse for Tagger then not killing the lesser woman would be having the lesser woman get away. How could he live with him self? His pride was second only to his mind, and one of the sighs of his superiority.

"Why Donny, why?" Deborah cried, as Tagger came behind her. He didn't worry about finger prints, he had burned away the tips of his fingers with lye along time ago. Tagger had to control his breathing desperately. He had waited so long for this moment, the anticipation was palpable, almost sexual. His hands brushed against the back of her neck.

Taggers head felt like it was going to explode, as a new feeling over took him. Like a homing beacon, he knew this wasn't Angela Duncan, but he knew where they were.

"You don't know how close you came to death" Tagger growled. Deborah looked up, but Tagger was already gone.


	31. On The Road To Mauville

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XXXI : On The Road to Mauville**

To get to Mauville, there are two roads you can take. Route 110 is the three day walking path, or the bicycle path, which was the three hour riding path. Of course, we didn't have any bikes, nor did we have the energy to lug bikes around. So, we ended up walking. Here's something that never made sense to me, something no one has ever explained to me. If people primarily use the bicycle path to get to Mauville from Slateport, how come the bike shop was on Mauville? The limitless stupidity of the human race, it amazes me.

Well, we were walking under the bike path, desperately trying to avoid the sun. It was a mild 95 degrees today, and we were miserable. Let me rephrase it, I was miserable.

I was sweating through my fur coat. I was one of only two in our group not heat resistant, or who didn't have a fur coat. The other was of course, Virgil, and he never complained. Actually, I wouldn't think Virgil breathed if I hadn't seen it my self.

Rush was walking beside me, whistling. Every so often, he would look up at Lisa, headphone wagging. She might look down and see him, then she would smile, causing him to get really excited. I wish I had a fist, just so I could clock him. How dare he be happy! When I'm miserable, I demand every one be miserable with me. The problem was, Rush has never been unhappy in his life.

Louis was feeding L3 from my old baby bottle. He had begged Michael to give it to him, and Michael gave in. No offense, but L3 was a lump who was older then me, and she ate three leaves a day. Why would she need a baby bottle full of formula a day? Well, Louis considered her his baby (it's actually some what sweet) and he wanted to bottle feed her. The problem was, L3 was beginning to inflate. I mean, she looked a little like a furry barrel. I was afraid that if you dropped her, she might pop like a water balloon.

Virgil and Enfer were walking behind all of us, and thanks to my giant ears, I got to here their conversation. They were talking about what they believed to be the best way to take down and kill an enemy, with as little blood as possible. How romantic.

Michael had my book out, and had flipped to the section on Wattson, and his lips were moving silently, as his fingers traced the page. I knew he was worried about the next gym battle, and damn it, I was too. People can say what they want, electricity hurts a lot!

"According to Angela" Michael said, "The best strategy for taking down Wattson is go ground, go fast, and get out. Most electric types are fast, and several know self destruct, which will take down ground types. Wattson won't use self-destruct first though, so if I had a ground type who knew earthquake, I could take all of them down with only four attacks"

"You know" Lisa said, "You're becoming an expert on what you could do, not how you're going to do it"

"I'm going to use my team I have now" Michael said, "If another pokemon presents its self, and I'm meant to capture it, I'll capture it. I think I'll be okay though, Angel, Rush, and Titan are strong" Titan let out a yelp, and stumbled. It was so small, only I noticed.

"Titan, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Uh, it's nothing" Titan said, laughing, "Tell me, if I loose, will Michael release me?"

"Release you? That's horrible" I said, "Why on earth would you think that?"

"Uh, no reason" Titan said, even though it was quite obvious their was a reason. I nodded.

"Titan, I don't believe you"

"Well, I don't care if you don't believe me"

"Titan" I growled, "I want you to tell me what"

"Aaaaaauuuuuuuugh!" Some one screamed. We all turned, to see a bike hit the ground, metal twisting every where. It had fallen from the bike path, and it was followed by a boy in a helmet, a Plusle and a Minun. The boy didn't hit the bike, and although his helmet smashed, he didn't start bleeding and didn't look to bad. Plusle and Minun landed on the boy.

"Well that was weird" Louis said, as we slowly made our way over to the group. Michael nudged the boy, and he didn't stir. I looked at Plusle and Minun.

I saw it, an image running like a film strip. An out of control car, with a boy and a girl, twins, in it. I saw the car hit a tree and both air bags deployed. I didn't need to be told they were dead.

* * *

"He's coming around" Louis said. It was about a half an hour later, and we had the boy propped up on Michaels' back pack. The boys eye-lids fluttered, and slowly he opened them. He looked around at us, before he started screamed.

"Aaaaauuuuh! Kidnappers! Demons! You've kidnapped me, where have you taken me?!"

"Did this kid suffer a head injury?" Titan whispered.

"Wow kid, we didn't kidnap you!" Michael said.

"I want a lawyer! I want the police! I know your faces, you're going to prison when I" Lisa sighed, and pulled out her left breast. The kids jaw dropped, as she put it back.

"Are you going to calm down now?" He nodded. "We saw you fall off of the bike path, do you remember this?"

"Well, I remember loosing control of my bike" He said, "I hit the railing, but nothing after that"

"Well, you fell and hit the ground hard" Louis said, as he, Michael, and Lisa sat down.

"Awe crap" The kid said. Sighing, he stroked the Plusle and Minun, "Come on you guys, time to wake up"

"Five more minutes Sam" Plusle said. The kid, Sam, kept stroking, so both of them sat up.

"Where are we?" The Minun asked.

"So we fell off the bike path?" Sam asked, "Well, thank you for helping me" He smiled. "I'm Sam" We made our quick introductions. "Do you mind if you sit here with me for a little bit, I'm not ready to walk off yet"

"Well sure, why don't you put your Plusle and Minun down, we have some pokemon"

"Okay, they'll enjoy that" Sam said, "Go on guys, go say high"

"Do we have to?" Minun asked in a slightly snobby tone. Knowing they would have no choice, the two climbed down, and walked over to us.

"Yes peons, be amazed by us" The Plusle said in a snotty voice.

"We're smarter then you, and better then you" Minun continued, "So be" They looked over Rushs' head fin, and saw me. Their jaws dropped, and they scrambled over to see me.

"You're human!" Plusle cried.

"Excuse me?"

"You're human like us" Minun said, "Or at least you used to be" Rush and Titan looked at me, feeling neglected.

"Tell me, when you saw me, what did you see? Did you see"

"A girl hanging her self?" Bingo.

"You saw my death, didn't you! I knew it" I turned to Rush and Titan, "We're going to be busy for awhile, you two go away"

"I feel left out" Rush said. He looked at Lisa, and smiled. Okay, I don't any more" Rush ran over, and started pawing at her back. Lisa looked, smiled, and picked Rush up.

"Awe" Titan looked around, "Oh wait, I have no one" Yep, a fact I am very, very proud of.

"Alright" I said, "While I've been living with some one who was re-born, I've never gotten the chance to talk to any one about it"

"You have?" Plusle said, "Who?"

"Well" I turned around, to see Enfer and Virgil were gone. "Damn it. Where the hell could those two vanish to?"

"Uh, okay" Minun said, "How about we introduce our selves. She smiled, "I'm Miranda"

"I'm David"

"Angela" I said. The two were smiling at me, and were a little bit creepy. "So, when you see some one whose been re-born?"

"You see how they died" David said. "You see the moment they died, and how they died"

"Okay" I nodded, "My next question, why did Mew bring you back?" They looked at each other.

"Mew brought you back?" Miranda asked. "We were brought back by Griatina. It explained that only it, Arceus, and Mew can bring people back, but Mew only does it if Mew has something planned"

"Something planned?" I mumbled. "Well, why were you brought back?" They sighed.

"Well, as you could guess, we're twins" Miranda said, "And Sam was our younger brother"

"He's only thirteen, we were killed when he was six" David said, "We were in a car that we lost control of, and hit a freaking tree. Well, Griatina said Sam still needed us, so we were given the chance to come back to the world. But, we were told we would have to come back as pokemon"

"When we came back, two years had passed. We were born to a guy who had kept a Plusle and Minun as pets. He lived next door to our parents. Well, he didn't want us, and our parents decided to get us for Sam!"

"One problem with two years gone, is that our family had grieved, except since they had Sam, they had to move on. They missed us, but we had been banished to picture frames and memories, all other proof we had ever existed, gone" Miranda sniffled.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to cry, but it hurts, you know?" I looked up at Michael

"Yeah, I know" I said, sighing. "You guys shared, so I guess I should to" Boy, this hurts. "First, I didn't kill my self. I was going to kill my self, but I changed my mind at the last minute"

"Then how did you end up in the noose?" David asked. I laughed.

"I was clumsy in life. Well, I ended up slipping, and hanging my self. I mean, at first I didn't know I had killed my self, I thought my noose had snapped and I fell through the floor. Well, when I finished, I ended up in front of Mew! I mean, I didn't even believe that Mew existed, but he told me Michael was in love with me"

"Michael your trainer" I nodded, smiling meekly.

"M-Mew said" My voice was wavering, "Mew s-said he was in love with me. Then, I heard t-t-t-the things h-he said ab-about me" I got this out, before braking down. Miranda and David walked over, and embraced me. I always hated getting touched by strangers, but right now that didn't matter. Nothing really mattered, but I was with people who understood. That's what people all deep down seek, people who understand.

"If you don't want to continue" Miranda said, "It's okay, we'll understand" I nodded.

"Thank you" I choked. I didn't say another word, none of us did, until we walked back to Sam and Michael.

"Any ways, I don't have any badges yet" Sam said, "But I'm heading to Rustboro, so I can try to beat her"

"Do you have any other pokemon?" Michael asked. He stroked my fur, and I sank my head into his chest. This is where I belonged, this was my vacation. Lost in oblivion, in Michaels' arms. Where I found my salvation.

"Well, no" He smiled, as he looked down at Miranda and David, who had climbed back into his lap. "These guys are all I'll need to beat her"

"Not fucking likely" I said. Titan stomped his little metal foot on my tail, that was draped across Michaels' leg, and I let out a squeal. Fucking two ton steel ball. Is it my fault that I was realistic, and knew that Geodude was immune to rock? I don't think so.

"Well, I guess it's time I get going" Sam said, standing up. "I've taken enough of your time, and I've got to make up for lost time" He looked back at the twisted metal that once was a bike, and was now modern art. "Thank you though for your kindness" With Miranda in one hand and David in the other, and a quick wave good-bye, Sam left our little group. I wish we had never seen him again, because when we saw him again, we met Tagger for the first time. But more on that later.


	32. The One That Could Have Been I

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XXXII : The One That Could've Been pt. I**

This story could, and probably will go down in history, as my strangest story of all time. Why will it go down like that you ask? Because this story, my dear listener, didn't happen. Actually, that's not one hundred percent true, it sort of happened, it happened to me and Michael, and it happened for twenty-four hours. For twenty-four hours, Michael knew who I was, and their were no secrets between us.

You know, I fucking hate it when not Meowth is cryptic to me, so I'm not going to be cryptic to you. Instead, I'm going to just jump in, and say this. It all started because of a question.

"What would your life be like, if you were still human?" Rush asked me. I snapped my head up, a little shocked by the question, although I don't know why. The sun had set and we were camped out on route 110. Michael had started a fire with Louises lighter, after he attempted to light up three joints at once, and ended up setting his shirt, and part of fat L3, on fire. We were able to put them out.

Lisa and Michael were discussing something. Louis was attempting to breathe in fumes from the fire, sense we used some of his best stash for kindling. L3 had flipped out upon breathing the flames, had to be subdued, and was now zipped up in Michaels' back pack, the pack bulging to the brim. Titan was in on a rock, unconscious and happy. Enfer and Virgil, well, who the fuck knows where those two are? I had ended up speaking to Titan, because of no one else to talk to. Well, he knew I was human (Also that I was depressed. How do pokemon figure it? If one more says I'm the most depressed Eevee they've ever seen, I'm going to open fire), and asked me to share about my life. When I refused, he asked me the question.

"I don't um" My tongue became thick in my muzzle, "I uh, it's" Words vanished in my head, nothing able to get out of my mouth. "Th- that's an uh, a complicated question"

"No it isn't" Rush said, "Do you think your life would be good if you were still alive?" My head was spinning slightly, and I flopped down on my stomach. When you've spent the last four months of your life adjusting to being an Eevee, you tend to be messed up by any mention of your human life.

"I think that my life" I stammered, "It would, or might not, I think"

"You're stalling" Rush said, hitting the nail right on the head. Fucking optomistic Mudkip.

"Well, maybe I just don't want to speak" I said.

"Okay, then how about you and I"

"Rush, if you say you want to try and make me giggle, I'll smash you into tiny pieces" I snarled. Okay, I don't want to talk, but I always have time to insult my team mates. This made me smile, as only an Eevee can.

* * *

A couple of hours later, we were ready to go to sleep, and I was still thinking about that fucking question. Every time I began thinking of what my life could have been, I kept thinking of my suicide. Even when it was time to sleep, I couldn't get it out of my head.

I was laying on Michaels' chest, as he stroked my fur. Titan was on the ground beside us, and Rush had been sleeping with Lisa for three days now. We didn't have a sleeping bag anymore, Louis had set it on fire back in Petalburg Woods. Michael had adapted to sleeping on the ground, and was barely awake. I on the other hand, still hadn't fully adapted to sleeping in a ball.

"Three day walk to Mauville, two days behind us" Michael whispered to me, "Two more to go. Night Angel"

"What would my life be like if I were still human?" I asked him, but Michael was already asleep. Sighing, I laid my head down, and closed my eyes.

"I might be of some assistance" A new voice said. _Great, some one else here to screw up my life._ Groaning, I opened my eyes, to see I was no longer on top of Michael. Of course not, that would be to easy. Slowly, I pulled my self up, to see who was speaking to me.

"You're not not Meowth" I said.

"No, I'm not" They said. In front of me was a Milotic, larger then any I had ever seen. It was staring down at me, smiling, seeming to know every thing about my life. We were drifting, where I don't know, but I felt at peace with this Milotic. One thing I noticed, was it was female.

"What are you, do you know not Meowth?" I asked.

"We are of the same kind" She said, laughing a little. "I have come for you, Angela Duncan, because of all that has happened to you. When you watched your ex-boyfriend die, Donny was his name I believe, I felt it was time to step in"

"Why did you wait a day after it happened?" I asked.

"Don't question the will of the universe" She said, snapping at me. Her peaceful demeanor slipped for a moment, but returned instantly. "I'm here to offer you something. A deal like the one Mew offered you" My heart skipped a beat.

"W-what's the deal?" She giggled again. When she giggled, my blood ran cold.

"A chance to go back" She said, "A chance to become human again" Now my heart had stopped beating.

"W-what?"

"I can make it, so that on that day you slipped, you had had five more seconds" Not Milotic said. "If you had had five more seconds, you would still be alive" She cleared her throat, "Now if you except, some one else would have to take your place, since at least one person had to die that day"

"Some one else has to die?" I asked, biting my bottom lip. "I don't know"

"How about this" Not Milotic continued, "I can make it so Michael not only knows this reality isn't the correct one, but he'll be able to remember the other reality, and you will be able to understand him"

"Why wouldn't I be able to understand him?" I murmured. Shrugging, I looked up, "What if I don't like the new world?"

"Okay, how about I give you a twenty-four hour trial period? After it ends, I'll give you the choice to stay in this world, or return to the old one. So, do we have a deal?" I didn't even have to think about it.

"Deal" I said, laughing, "So, when will it begin?"

"Well, right now" Instantly, I felt pressure covering my body. It was the most horrible feeling in the world, my body being squeezed and re-arranged, molded into a new shape. I screamed in pain, my voice cracking, before I passed out.

* * *

The first thing I realized was I was sleeping with my head on a bunched up T-shirt, and my hands were gripping my sleeping bag as tight as they could. The second thing I realized, was I had hands. My eyes shot open.

"HOLY FUCK" I screamed, bolting straight up. I ran my hands over my body, over my sweat soaked shirt, through my black hair. I had hair, no fucking Eevee fur! I was human, I was human! I wanted to laugh, cry, dance, and do just about every other crazy thing you could think of at once.

"Not now Lisa" Michael groaned, "I'm tired" My joy vanished instantly, and I slowly turned my head. I was in a tent, and in there with me were three pokemon. Although I couldn't tell what two of them where, I could tell which one had spoken to me. The voice had come from a Grovyle, laying on his back.

"Oh fuck" I whispered. Memories flooded my mind, the memories of two lives. The memories I already had, and the memories of my new life.

In this life, I hadn't slipped and broken my neck. In this life, I had climbed out of the noose, deciding that I was stronger then this, and wasn't going to kill my self, validating the drunken Duncans. I decided to wait around, for them to stumble home, and when they did, I gave them a choice. Since I wasn't eighteen, they had to sign a waver to let me become a trainer, I told them to sign it, or I would have them arrested for (Well, there are some incidents I'd rather not bring up). They agreed, and I ran next door to tell Michael. Except…

Except Michael hadn't been there. Instead, Michael had gone out to celebrate with his family, since he was leaving the next day. His egg had hatched, and he had named the Eevee, a naturally born Eevee, Angel. Michael had taken Angel to dinner with them, because he refused to leave her alone. On the way home, a drunk driver, who had been driving in the wrong lane slammed into them, head on. Michael, his parents, and Angel were killed instantly. Except, Michael hadn't died, he had come back.

"Michael" I whispered, as I bent over (I had a waist again) and slowly shook his stomach back and forth.

"Not now" He mumbled. I reached down, and plucked one of those leaves he had for a tail. Instantly his eyes shot open, as he screamed and shot up. "Yeeeeeoooooow! Why the heck did you" Michael got a good look at me. "Angela? An-Angela? What are you? How are you? I just" Then Michael got a good look at his green arms. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

* * *

"You were Angel?" Michael asked, "Y-you were my Eevee?" We were outside of the tent, since I didn't want to wake up my other pokemon, what ever they were. Beside my tent, was a second tent, so evidently I was traveling with some one else, but I didn't know who.

"Mew said I could come back" I told him, "He gave me the chance, and I took it. Might I assume?"

"Yeah, Mew came for me too" Michael said. A smile appeared on his small green muzzle. "Christ, it's so strange, having two sets of memories. Well, in this world, Mew came to me, said you needed me, and gave me the chance to return"

"Well, I'm glad you took it" I said.

"Just out of curiosity, why am I a Grovyle?" As he asked this, I began to remember.

"I went to get my starter, and it was a Treecko" I said, "But they told me the Treecko had been taken, but they had been given a Treecko egg from their breeding center, and if I wanted it"

"I was in it" Michael said,

"Bingo" He sat down, trying to make sense of this info.

"And Mew gave you the chance to become human again?" I nodded. Better to blame Mew, then to to explain what actually happened. "You had no idea?"

"That you would end up a Grovyle? Of course not" Not Milotic had left several details out of our little deal. Michael sighed. "I notice you're not freaking out"

"Angela, I thought I would never see you again" A smiled appeared on his beak like muzzle, "So, as long as I'm here with you, nothing matters"

"But you gave up your humanity!" I exclaimed.

"Don't care"

"You gave up your life!"

"Doesn't matter"

"You have a leaf growing out of your head" I said. I grabbed a piece of it, and took a whiff, "And it smells like mint"

"You weird" Michael said, laughing, "I love it"

"That's uh, good" I stammered. "Uh, I think I should see what other two pokemon I have"

"Probably a good idea" Michael said, "What did you name them?" My head snapped up.

"I named you Alyosha, the Horsea is named Marmela, and the Marowak is named Alexi" I said automatically. "How do I know that?"

"The more you think about this life, the more you remember" Michael replied, as we stood up, moving back towards our tent. I unzipped the flap, and we peaked our heads inside. "Well, you were right" Michael said, "One Horsea, one Marowak"

"Neither of which are found in Hoenn" I said. "There is now way I could of ended up with them. How did I end up with them?" Evidently, they heard me talking, because they both turned their heads up.

"Hello Angela" Marmela said to me in pokespeech, except I could understand her!

"Uh, hi Marmela, Alexi" Now they looked at each other.

"Can you understand us?" Alexi asked.

"Excuse me for a moment" I said, pulling my head out of the tent and pulling Michael out by the leaf on his head.

"How can you understand them? _Not Milotic fucked up._

"Mew fucked up" I said. The zipper to the other tent unzipped. Me and Michaels

heads snapped up. "Oh God, I forgot! Who am I traveling with" I bit my bottom lip out of anxiety, and I could see Michael doing the same. Slowly, a head poked out of the tent.

"Hey Angela" Robin said to me, "Are you and Alyosha training?" Michael and me looked at each other.

"Did you invite Robin?" Michael whispered.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God" I said, trying to black out the new memories. Oh God, at Michaels funeral I had run into Robin, and she had been upset. Oh no, we had both been upset, and we had actually found something to bond over. Oh God, we grew close, we were friends! The thought made me want to throw up.

"Uh yeah" I said, noticing she was wearing a pajamas pants suit, "We're training. Go away"

"Okay" Robin said, "We're going to make it to Mauville today, do you think we need more supplies before our gym battles?"

"Uh, yeah" I said, "Go away" Robin nodded, oblivious, and went back in her tent. As soon as she was gone, I turned to Michael. "Leaf blade, leaf blade on me right now, hit me here" I said, pointing to my neck. "I can't go with Robin"

"No" Michael said, "You've traveled a long way with her already, you can last 24 hours" I sighed.

"Well, if you wont do it" I said, picking up a rock, "I'll do it my self" I attempted to bash my head in, but Michael restrained me. "Bastard" I snarled.

Since Michael wouldn't let me kill my self, I decided to get dressed. As I did, Alexi and Marmela had a plethora of question.

"How can you understand us?" Alexi asked. I cringed, trying to figure out the simplest answer.

"I don't know"

"But you couldn't before" Marmela said.

"No I couldn't" I said, "Life's a mystery" I pulled a T-shirt over my head.

"Why do people battle pokemon?" Marmela asked. I froze at this.

"Oh let her change you moron" Alexi said, "She has more important things to be concerned with" I looked at the two of them. In Marmela, I saw an innocent, naïve Horsea, unaware of the world. In Alexi I saw some one strong and cynical, a warrior who was easily annoyed by morons. I liked them.

* * *

"Explain to me again how the gym system works" Robin said, as we walked tot Mauville.

"Have I already explained this?" I whispered to Michael. He shrugged. Alexi and Michael were walking in front of us, while Marmela was lying on top of my back pack. Robins' pokemon were all in pokeballs, dumb bitch. "Alright, the goal of all trainers in Hoenn is the Ever Grande conference, where the best trainers in Hoenn gather. Now, any one can walk right up and just enter, but they have to begin in the preliminary rounds.

"If a person collects eight badges though, they get to go straight to the semi-finals. This isn't as easy as it sounds though, gym leaders are a bitch to beat. The early ones are the easiest, but the later ones, in particular Winona and Wallace, are extremely difficult. On average two, maybe three people beat them a year. That's how many places they reserve for people who have collected all eight badges in the semi-finals, three. They've never had four. Any ways, if you win the tournament, you get to battle the elite four. If you beat the elite four, you get to battle the champion. If you beat her, then you get to be champion"

"Okay" Robin said, nodding along. "Explain it again" I let out an exasperated cry.

"I like Robin, she's funny" Marmela said.

"She's a moron" Both Michael and Alexi said in unison.

"I've always liked you Alyosha" Alexi said.

"Is it possible to let go of that bone?" I asked her.

"What bone?" Robin asked.

"Uh, nothing, look it's Mauville!" I exclaimed, so happy to have the conversation changed, and to be in the city.

"I don't suppose there is any chance that we can have fun today, and not just get supplies and got to the gym?"

"Well I" My voice caught in my throat. It hit me for the first time, I'm going to have a gym battle. I'm going to have my first gym battle, and I wasn't going to be battling in it! My leg began to shake as I walked from excitement. "Let's just find a store fast, okay?"

* * *

"Alright, ten super potions" A very bored clerk said, "Six revives, blah blah blah" I looked at Robin, as she put more crap on the counter. She looked at me.

"What?" She asked.

"Money?" Alexi was leaning against a wall, flipping her bone in between her clawed hands. Marmela was balancing on its tail-fin thing, firing water guns at Michael who kept dodging. Water was flooding the floor, and knocking over supplies, but no one seemed to care. Mounted on the upper left corner of the ceiling was a TV, turned to some news station.

"You have all of our money" Robin said.

"What the hell are you talking about" I said, reaching into the right pocket of my jeans. I pulled out a very large wad of bills, enough to make my eyes bulge. How did I get this money? No memories were coming to explain this. Where did this money come from?! Eh, who cares, there is a fucking ton of it!

I paid with a giddy expression on my face, and as the confused clerk took me money, I counted the rest of it. The exact amount isn't important, but it was a lot. The clerk handed me my change, as I giggled like a loon, and a new story came on the TV.

"In other news today" The announcer said, "The bloated corpse of a woman that was found washed-up on Slateport beach, the body of a Zangoose beside it, was identified as Ms. Lisa Jeffries, the famous vanishing champion of Johto" My head snapped towards the TV, Michael doing the same. Marmela hit him full blast with a water gun, but he didn't notice.

"Ms. Jefferies is famous for beating the elite 4 and champion of Johto in five days, and then disagreeing the day she was supposed to be named the new champion. Ms. Jefferies is survived by her sister Dana. She was 26"


	33. The One That Could Have Been II

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XXXIII : The One That Could Have Been pt. II**

Michael and me just stared at the TV, stunned for a moment. Marmela landed a water-gun, and since Michael didn't notice, he was sent flying. He flipped twice in the air and slammed into a rack of supplies, knocking stuff every where, and snapping me back to reality. Michael pulled him self out of the pile of crap, rubbing his head slowly. When he saw Marmela laughing, he pushed off and jumped at her, wrapping his talon like fingers around her neck. Marmelas' eyes bulged, and she made a wheezing noise, but Michael didn't let go.

"What the hell are you doing?" Michael growled.

"Alyosha, you're hurting me" Marmela cried. Michael gave one more growl, and let go, walking away from Marmela, over to Alexi.

"What happened to you, psycho-boy?" Alexi mumbled, eyes closed. Her body was completely limp, like she didn't care that Michael attacked Marmela.

"Bite me" Michael growled, "Some one I knew died. I just found out" Alexi nodded at this.

"Some one you knew from when you were human?" Michael paused, before remembering Alexi knew he had been human.

"I guess" He mumbled. Although I had seen Michael strangle Marmela, I hadn't quit taken it in, my brain wasn't processing it. It didn't make sense, Lisa dead, Virgil dead?! How could they both be dead? It wasn't possible, I had seen them yesterday. This woman who might have, sort of been my friend, and the Zangoose who was, scary, could not be dead, I refused to believe it.

"Hey Angela" Robin said, "You do know, your Grovyle smashed a display" I had turned my attention back to the TV, which was at commercial, so I wasn't paying attention. "Yo, earth to Angela" Robin looked up at the TV with me, "Birth control pills? I don't get it, are you worried about getting pregnant?"

"Wha?" I snapped, giving Robin a strange look, "Of course I'm not worried about that, you pants suit zombie. What kind of question is that?!"

"You're shrieking" Robin said. I sighed.

"I know, I'm sorry, I'm just a little upset right now. Lisa Jeffries died today"

"Awe, that's so sad" She said, scratching her head, "Who is Lisa Jeffries" I let out a cry of anguish.

"What do you mean who is Lisa Jeffries?! She was the almost champion of Hoenn" Robins' face remained blank, "She ran away the day she was supposed to be crowned champion?" Still nothing, "She drowned and washed up in Slateport two weeks ago!"

"Really? Huh, isn't that something" Moron. I sighed, and grabbed my bag of stuff, not bothering to count to make sure I had gotten every thing (I hadn't, the clerk stole six potions and two revives). Well, I could think about all of this shit later, I had a gym battle now. I picked up Marmela, who curled up in my arms, slightly traumatized. I nodded at Alexi and Michael, who followed me and Robin out of the store.

"Alright, since I'm really not into battling" Robin said, "I'm going to go get lunch" With that, Robin turned and left us standing in front of the gym, me, Michael, and Alexi watching.

"Even in this reality, with no pokemon, that girl is an asshole" I said.

"At least she doesn't have those poor pokemon trapped" Michael said, "Come on, let's go" We walked inside, the air-conditioning washing over us (the August air was hot and sticky), to see a completely empty lobby. Shrugging, we walked over to the trainers entrance.

"Why is this place empty?" Michael whispered. The hall way had multi-colored tiles, some lighting up really fast, and then turning off. Another would light up, then another, and another.

"Wattson has been under investigation by the Pokemon league, because he set his gym up like a fun house. They removed most of it, but this hall way remained. We move down it, if the tile under us lights up, we will be administered an electrical shock, the dosage depends on the color of the tile" I pulled Marmela up, "Alexi, you hold Marmela. She's water-type, you're ground-type, you don't conduct electricity"

"I will guard her with my life madam" Alexi said. "If I might ask"

"Wattson is doing this because age is finally starting to get to him. Last year, he electrocuted a trainer on his roller-coaster they eventually removed"

"Actually, I was going to ask if you were willing to explain how you could understand us" I mumbled something, and we started moving. Now, since Michael's feet were like bird talons, he jumped onto the wall, and ran straight to the end. Alexi walked straight down the hall. Lucky bastards. I took one step, and took a full voltage.

"Aaaaaaaaah" I screamed. It stopped, me smoking slightly. I took one step foreword, and the tile lit up. "Fuck, aaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Seventy-two shocks of varying severity later, I made it to the end. Alexi reached up and touched my badly frizzed hair.

"What happened?"

"Bite me" Twitching, we made our way into the main area of the gym. We walked right into a large arena. Standing in the gym leaders area was an old man. "Are you Wattson?" I asked, as my face stopped twitching.

"Yes? Do I know you?"

"My name isn't important, I'm here to challenge you" Wattson laughed.

"Well, I admire your"

"Quiet oldy-locks, let's get started" I turned to Alexi, "You're up"

"It would be my honor" Alexi said, walking out into the arena. I took my place on the trainers mat, as a slightly upset Wattson pulled out a pokeball.

"Okay then, Voltorb it's time to play" From his pokeball emerged a larger ball, this one with eyes. I laughed, Voltorb is one of the worst electric types ever, right up there with Pichu. Time to kick some round ass.

"Alexi, use" Lisas' drowned body, the image filled my mind. I couldn't think of a command. "Uh, that was odd" I murmured, shaking it off. I looked, to see that stupid Voltorb hit Alexi with rollout, since I hadn't ordered an attack. Well, it wouldn't do much. "Sorry Alexi, use" Virgils' body on the beach, waves crashing on it. His fur in clumps, sea weed intertwined in his claws. I couldn't stop thinking about them, my mind was blank of every attack.

A loud explosion brought me back to reality, and I could see the Voltorb had used self-destruct and knocked Alexi out.

* * *

"You lost?" Robin asked, as we sat down for lunch at a place.

"That's generally what happens when you don't give any attacks" I mumbled. Michael was in my lap for a change, and I was weaving the leaf on his head in between my fingers. Marmela was asleep on my back pack, and Alexi was beside my chair, pissed that we had lost.

"You've never lost before!" Robin exclaimed.

"Thanks for reminding me Robin!" I said in mock excitement, "I know I've never lost before. I had my mind on other things" Like dead almost friends. "Look, I need to do something today, alone. Can you take care of Alexi and Marmela?"

"Uh, what about Alyosha?"

"I'll take care of him. Just look after the two of them, we'll meet you by the game corner some time, okay?"

"Uh? Okay" Robin said, as me and Michael stood up and left.

* * *

I needed to get on the internet, so me and Michael could look up some information, and the only public computers were at the Mauville public library. Since I didn't have a library card, I had Michael help me "borrow" one from some body. Just for the record, I wasn't stealing, I was borrowing with no intention of returning.

"What are we looking for Angel?" Michael asked me. I cringed a little when he called me by my Eevee name.

"Well, first we're looking up Louis"

"Why?" I smiled nervously.

"Uh, remember when I said I made the deal with Mew to become human again? I didn't, I made it with a creature called not Milotic who may be about a thousand times more powerful, and since Lisa is dead, not Milotic may be evil. I want to know what happened to Louis" I said, as I typed his name into a search engine, and clicked results. Michael hopped up on my lap.

"Adalian child, plus two more, die in explosion" He read. I gulped, and clicked. The article was from the Oldale Gazette. I read aloud.

"Louis Adalian, son of notorious mafia enforcer Joseph Adalian, was killed on Monday in an explosion. Apparently Mr. Adalian had a gas leak in his house, and tried to light a joint. Un aware of the gas, the house exploded and killed Mr. Adalian. The house next door was set on fire by the explosion, and the residents of the house were killed. Mr. Adalians' pet Growlithe was pulled from the rubble, but her hind legs had to be amputated. She was euthanized two days later"

Michael threw up on the floor, and I had to use all of my energy not to. Oh God, Enfer and Louis? I knew they would notice the pile of puke, so we had to work fast.

"W-who next?" Michael choked.

"My parents" I mumbled. This brought up some very different results. "Losing or daughter : The Angela Duncan story is to be released in a month?!" I cried.

"Your parents wrote a book about you leaving to be a trainer?" Michael asked, "They turned you being a trainer into big cash I see" Those bastards! Those fucking bastards!

"Read how two parents helped save their daughter from almost suicide, and helped her achieve her dream of becoming a trainer!" I screamed. "Help me! They practically put the fucking noose around my neck. "Okay, I've seen all I need to, and since several people are coming to see us, I think it's time we left"

"I feel sick" I said, holding my knees to my chest. We were outside sitting on the curb, the sun beating down on us. "Oh God"

"Why didn't you tell me about not Milotic?" Michael asked. I looked down at the little green lizard.

"Louis is dead, and you're asking this"

"I have to think about any thing else right now" Michael whispered. "Now tell me why"  
"Well, we shouldn't be thinking about"

"Avoiding the issue, now answer the question" Michael said.

"It has nothing to do with you"

"You turned me into a Grovyle, it has a lot to do with me" He said, "Why didn't you tell me"

"I thought you would disapprove"

"Of course I would disapprove" Michael cried, "Damn it Angela, when Mew turned you into an Eevee, for all of that shit, at least you knew Mew was naturally good! What do you know about not Milotic"

"I know she gave me my humanity back" I yelled. "I know I like her" Three people turned to me.

"Miss, you're talking to a Grovyle"

"Oh go to hell" I screamed, turning back to Michael.

"Angela" Michael began controlling his voice, "I'm sorry. If I were you, which I currently am, I would have done the same thing. I want you to tell me every thing that not Milotic told you"

"Why?"

"Because entities of amazing power don't decided to offer new life for no reason" Seeing the logic in this, I sighed.

"Well, not Milotic isn't the only thing I'm not telling you. Not Milotic is just the latest part in the tapestry of my new life, and I know she's related to several other things in my life"

"Like what" I sighed, and unloaded. Every thing about my life as an Eevee, even things that had nothing to do with not Milotic. I told about being born, about meeting Enfer and the vision, about not Meowth and the nightmare man, every thing. When I finished, Michaels' jaw had hit the ground.

"Wow, I had no idea Angela" I nodded. "How were you hanging on?"

"Now Meowth said he could make it so we could speak, if you figured out who I was. The thing is, I wasn't satisfied with just that, and frankly, I wanted to be human again"

"So when not Milotic came along"

"I agreed to the deal" I said. Now I was frowning, "I guess when the 24 hours are up, I'll have to return to being an Eevee. I mean, I know you want to be human again" Michael shook his head.

"What if I told you I didn't care Angela? What if I told you, I was willing to give up my humanity, and live out my life as a pokemon" My hands started shaking.

"So, as pissed as you are at me, you want me to except the deal?" Michael smiled, as best his beak/muzzle could.

"I love you Angela, more then any person I've ever met. I love you, I want to spend my life with you, if I could I would marry you" He whispered, "Even if it means being a pokemon. I want you to except this reality" Michael didn't get any more, as I grabbed him and kissed him (not an easy feat with his beak/muzzle). I jumped up, holding him in my arms, tears rolling down my face as I laughed like a loon.

"I just, Michael I can't begin" I stammered, as we walked through Mauville, headed to the game corner.

"Save it. I can get used to this" He smiled, "Who knows, being a pokemon might be fun"

"I think your delirious" I laughed, as we walked on. Michael looked up.

"Angela, what do you think Louis and Enfer, or Lisa and Virgil would say about our decision" I froze.

"They uh, they would uh" I looked around, and saw a crowd of people. "Oh look a crowd, let's go see" I said, rushing away from Michael. He sighed, and followed, knowing I was avoiding the issue (avoiding the issue is an art form).

The crowd was watching a pokemon battle in the street, between one guy with a Marshtomp, and a girl with a Spinda. "Spinda is going to get creamed" I whispered to Michael.

"What does the male trainer have in his hand?" I looked In the trainers hand, was some kind of black leather stick, wait it was a whip. A cat o' nine tails. What the hell would he be doing with that?

"Spinda, teeter dance" The girl said. The rabbit on acid began to stumble back and forth. As it did, the Marshtomp began to punch its self in the face.

"You stupid fuck" It's trainer screamed, as it smacked the Marshtomp across the back with the whip. Well, that snapped the poor pokemon out of it.

"That's horrible, who could do that?" Michael asked. I couldn't answer, I nudged him.

"What?"

"Look at the Marshtomps' tail fins" On each fin was a scar, that gave them a forked look.

"Oh my God"

"It's Rush" I whispered. We could do nothing but watch, as the ground under our feet began to shake. Rush used earthquake, and Spinda was knocked out.

"You loose, get out of my sight" The trainer said.

"We have to get Rush away from that guy" I said. We pushed our way through the crowd, until the trainer saw us.

"Can I help you?"

"I need to speak to your Marshtomp" I said. He looked at me like I was crazy.

"Of course you can't, you fucking crazy bitch. Get away from me, or I'll"

"Michael, pound" Michael jumped and used the leaf on his head to slam the trainer into the ground. I crouched down, and looked at Rush.

"Rush, Rush look at me" He looked up. "It's me, Angela"

"Don't know Rush" He mumbled, "Just Marshtomp. No Rush, don't know Rush, no Rush"

"Rush, you're scaring me" I said.

"Don't know Rush, just Marshtomp" He continued to chant. Michael took my hand, and lead me away. I was crying as I looked at him.

"I can't take the deal, can I?"

"No, you can't"

* * *

We didn't go to the game corner. We kind of just walked around aimlessly, enjoying our time together, finally leaving Mauville. Michael and me swapped stories, laughing at each other. It was almost midnight, and soon I would be an Eevee. Again.

"Angela, I just want you to know something" Michael said, "As terrible as it seems, you going back to being a pokemon, it's not the worst thing that can happen to you"

"Really?" I laughed, "Care to elaborate?"

"Do you know what happened at the end of the novel, Crime and Punishment?" I shrugged.

"The main character went to prison for murder" I said.

"The main character before he went to prison was near death, he was destroyed. When he went to prison, he began to heal mentally, physically, and spiritually. I know you're healed physically. Are you completely healed mentally, or spiritually?"

Boy, he does ask a hard question. Of course I was better, why wouldn't I be? Yeah, I was sad, but that was because I had lost my humanity. Right? Wasn't that it? When I had been re-born, I was happy, but it was temporary.

"No" I said, "I'm not healed" I sighed, "Life is a bitch, you know"

"Yeah I know" Michael said. "But that's why we love it. How much time do we have left?" I looked up at the full moon and shrugged.

"A few minutes maybe?"

"Well, in that case" Michael stopped me, and looked up. "Usually a guy gets down on one knee for this, but since I'm this small, I wont. Angela, I love you. I don't know that when we return to the other world, I'll remember who you are, so I have to ask you now. Angela Duncan, will you marry me?"

"M-Michael, you know what happens in a few minutes, and that you're a pokemon"

"I don't care. I want to be engaged to you, even if it's for a few minutes" I smiled.

"Uh, yes Michael, I will"

"Awe, this is so sweet, I think I might puke" Michael and I flipped, to see a large Milotic floating there. "I've come to hear your discussion Angela"

"Oh really, you couldn't say, show up a little later? Give me time to say good-bye to Marmela and Alexi"

"No" She said in an icy voice.

"Goody" I looked down at Michael.

"I think I know what you'll pick, but I'll love you even if you choose to stay human" I sighed.

"I know, and I hate you for it" I turned to not Milotic. "I want to be an Eevee again" _Yeah, right._

"What?" Not Milotic cracked a shaky grin. "I mean, are you sure? Look at this world, you and Michael are together"

"Lisa, Louis, Virgil, and Enfer are dead. Rush is abused, who knows where L3 and Titan are. How could I ever be happy knowing this?"

"You'll figure that out. I mean, you're a great trainer, and you have money!"

"I don't know how legal this money is" I exclaimed. "And pokemon battling isn't the most important thing in the world. It's the second" Now not Milotic was pissed.

"You stupid fucking furball" She screamed, "If you go back, you'll be another worthless Eevee, you wont matter to any one. Michael wont remember who you are, and I'll personally make sure he never finds out"

"You sick freak" I exclaim, "You're feeding off of the misery! I'll risk that Michael wont figure it out, I demand to be taken back now"

"You'll be sorry" not Milotic snarled, her eyes glowing. A light, and intense pain, washed over both of us, as we vanished.

* * *

I was first aware of two things, the wind blowing over my fur, and me having fur. I opened my eyes, and saw a small brown muzzle on the end of my face, and a cute black nose. Shit.

Michaels' eyes cracked open, and he smiled at me.

"Morning Angel" He whispered, "I just had a strange dream. I was a Grovyle, and you and I were engaged. Their was a Milotic, that wasn't one, it was weird. But it was a good dream" I let out a bittersweet Vee.

It's fun to dream.


	34. Good Thing Going

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XXXIV : Good Thing Going**

Mauville! The Hoenn paradise of gambling addicts, where people come to have their dreams smashed. Ain't it great? Well, we finally managed to shuffle into Mauville early Sunday afternoon. The gym was closed (fuck), and I was having a lot of trouble staying up. Each foot step was a labor of love, my legs were four furry cement columns. My head was thick and hazy, all because of that stupid fucking dream. Since it wasn't really a dream, it had been like being awake for 24 hours.

"Why don't you just climb into Michaels' arms and go to sleep?" Titan asked. Me and Rush looked at him like he was crazy.

"You do know what they're carrying, right?" Michael and Lisa were carrying a very fat L3, like the Israelites carrying the arc of the covenant. They all seemed to be struggling under the weight. L3 was asleep, and Louises arm was in a sling, and it would be for another couple of weeks.

"That's not the only reason" I said, remembering the fleeting memories of the alternate world, "I might have a nightmare"

"What's so bad about nightmares?" Titan asked, a little skeptical of how bad it could be.

"A lot of things Titan" Rush said, suddenly serious. "Nightmares can haunt you, turn you into a shell of your self" He went silent, and me and Titan stared. Rush looked back at the scar on his tail fin, wiggling the fin back and forth for a moment, before turning back to us. A smile broke out on his stupid face. "Where are Virgil and Enfer?"

Enfer and Virgil were walking behind us, talking in voices so low my giant ears couldn't hear them.

"I keep getting the feeling that Tagger is around ever corner" Enfer whispered.

"If he is though, you wont be fighting him alone" Virgil replied, "Remember, you're stronger now. I'm also with you, the two of can surely beat him"

"I hope so" She looked up at Virgil, who smiled. She let out a happy sigh. "I believe you"

"Louis, we need to talk about L3" Michael groaned.

"What do you mean?"

"I think you're feeding her to much" Michael and Lisas' knees buckled, and we had to pause as they re-distributed the pounds of Slakoth.

"Oh, you guys are"

"She's the only 400 pound Slakoth in the world" Lisa screamed, "No more formula, no more food, no more any thing!"

"Maybe you're right" Louis said, agreeing with Lisa while staring at her chest. "Baby, it's time to introduce you to our good friend alcohol" A clear bottle appeared in his hand, pulled out of thin air.

"Where did you get that?" Michael wheezed. "Get rid of it!"

"Don't kid your self, I have five others hidden some where on me" Louis said. He attempted to pour the alcohol into L3s' mouth, but missed and dumped it on me.

"Is it raining?" Titan asked.

"You stink, have you been drinking?" Rush said.

"Bite me" I growled, woozily licking some of the alcohol off my paw. Not even a good blend (yes, I would know. I drank before I died, I admit it, and I'm damn proud of it). I didn't think I was going to make it, I thought I would have to kill my self again, and then.

Rising over the hill, like some glorious miracle of God, was Mauville. Since it was Sunday, the gym wasn't open, but at this point in time, I was just so glad to see civilization again.

"I don't remember the name of our hotel" Louis said, trying to light a joint with one hand, "But it's next to the game corner"

"Game corner!" Lisa exclaimed for a second, her hands shaking. Slowly, she re-gained her composure. "I mean, why would we want to go there?"

"We didn't" Michael said, "Why?" Now her face was twitching, and she was having trouble carrying L3 (but that could be because L3 weighed a metric ton). I smelled something juicy.

"Well, back in Johto" Lisa said, grinning sheepishly, "I visited the local game corners a few times" I smiled. "I lost a little money"

"How much is a little?" Lisa cringed a little.

"It's uh, five hundred thousand"

"YOU LOST FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND!" My eyes bulged out of their sockets. Titan let out a long whistle, staring up at Lisa with what looked like respect. Even Virgil seemed a little surprised.

"Yeah, five hundred thousand, times two" Lisa whispered, "In eleven days, all on roulette and blackjack" She sighed, then broke out in a huge grin, "But I think we should visit, I'm feeling lucky"

"Wow, a million" Rush said, "She's so lucky"

"She lost one million" I said.

"I know! Only one million! She's so lucky!" Boy, Rush really does live in his own little world. What color is the sky there? Eh, at least he was happy.

"Uh, changing the subject" Michael said, "Louis, putting L3 on the all alcohol diet will not help her loose weight"

"Oh yeah, Mr. I know every thing about stuff" Lisa saw that Louises hands were soaked in alcohol, and he was trying to light a joint. Moving as fast as she could, Lisa knocked the lighter away, keeping Louis alive (Why would anybody want that?).

"Well, if you get a pokemon to battle for ten minutes, they use twice as much energy as if they ran for ten miles. Get L3 to battle. If she battles, and wins, L3 will definitely loose some of that weight."

"Battling doesn't always make you stronger" Titan suddenly cried out, "Some times you do all you can, and you still loose. You can't fault us if we loose" Boy, that was strange.

"Titan, is every thing okay?" I asked. He giggled nervously, and began to mumble something in gibberish. Weird-ass Aron.

"Titan wears the same mask you do" Enfer whispered to Virgil.

"Yeah, but his is slipping" Virgil said. "Titan needs some one, or else he'll implode" He put a clawed hand around Enfers neck, "If it weren't you and madam Lisa, I would implode"

The streets of Mauville were crowded by people, trainers, gamblers, people buying bikes. Mauville had the highest suicide rate of any city in Hoenn, due gambling and stupidity. What a great place to be alive.

I was very, very pissed off. Aside from being hot and tired, people kept stepping on my tail, and I was to tired to lift the worthless appendage. One good thing that came from my brief stint as a human. Also, I had been thinking a little about Marmela and Alexi, mostly where they had ended up when I became human again. If my friends had been dead in there world, were they dead in mine?

"Flaffy for trade" Some one in the crowd shouted. We all turned, to see a man holding a Flaffy up, "One Flaffy for good trade" The Flaffy was thin, and extremely malnourished. Every few seconds it would give off a flash of electricity, it seemed unable to control these flashes. The man was dressed like a hustler. On the fingers of the hand that he used to hold the Flaffy were two rings, one shaped like two dice, and one with four cards on it.

"Why don't you see what you could trade for that?" Louis asked. "You need an electric type" Michael shrugged.

"Nah, I like having a pokemon I've caught my self. Plus, look at how bad shape that thing is in, I'll be running the risk of it dying if I try to trade for it. I mean, I've got a good thing going with my current team, I'll capture an electric type eventually"

"I gotta side with Louis on this one" Lisa said, cringing when she did, "I think you should trade for it"

"With what?" they shrugged. "Exactly, I just want to get to the hotel right now"

* * *

Our hotel was the Mauville Lucky Charm, with rooms as tacky as the name. Every thing was yellow and gold, the halls, the carpets, the beds. The hotel workers wore gold uniforms, and they were each blondes.

Michael got the keys from the front desk, as I watch one-armed Louis and Lisa attempt to balance L3. L3 seemed a little amused by it, even when her ham-hock arm hit Louis where his stitches had been making him cry.

"Okay, I've got our keys, let's go to the room" Michael said, scooping me up.

"Why are you so desperate?" Lisa asked.

"I didn't get a good nights sleep last night" Michael said, "I had the terrible dream, made me exhausted. Plus, Angel is tired also" Michael said, gesturing to my slightly twitchy body. "I need a couple hours sleep. You guys can take Rush and Titan"

"Are you sure?" Louis asked.

"Yeah, I trust Lisa" Michael said, causing Louis to scratch his head.

"Wait, don't you me?"

"Uh, yeah! That two" With that, we bid the rest of the group adieu, and stumbled into our room. When you haven't slept, you end up so tired, you're to tired to sleep. You look at the world through a beer bottle, and your head feels like a jar of honey, thick and slow. Michael collapsed on the bed, me on his chest.

"No more bad dreams" He whispered "No more for either about us" _Yeah, _I thought, _no more._ I curled up into a ball and fell asleep.

* * *

Three hours later, we woke up. No dreams, just an infinite bliss on top of Michaels' chest. He helped me to the ground, and we stumbled out of the room.

"I don't even know where to begin to find Louis" Michael said, yawning. "Oh well, we've got all" Louis was standing in the hotel lobby, partially hunched over, because of L3 on his back (he looked a little like a shurpa). Enfer was beside him, speaking to Titan. Lisa, Virgil, and Rush were missing. "Okay, now I'm awake" Louis saw us and a smile cracked upon his stoned face.

"Dude! We got like a small problem. Me and Lisa we walking by the game corner, and she wanted to go in. I said like no, but then she made such a convincing argument, I couldn't say no"

"What was the argument"

"She threatened to squeeze my balls until my eyes popped out" Good argument. "Anyways, Virgil and Rush went with her, and she took some of our money"

"How much is some?"

"Uh, all of it" Ugh, mental head slap.

"Why do you look out for him again?" Titan asked.

"I thought it was because he took care of me" Enfer said, "Now I'm not sure" Michael let out a cry of frustration, grabbed Louis by the hand, and dragged him (us in tow) to the game corner.

In giant neon letters, the sign read MAUVILLE GAME CORNER, under that were the words, only slots in town. The front of the building was littered with people, people who looked like lifeless shells, people near suicide. Well, game corners weren't built on winners.

The inside of the place was overwhelming, with wall to wall people. They were huddled around slot machines, sitting around black-jack tables, sucking down drinks at roulette wheels, all the while telling them selves their luck will turn any second now. Around one roulette wheel was our Miss Lisa, Rush in her arms and Virgil sitting beside her.

"Lisa, what are you doing?!" Michael cried, as we ran over. She shushed us, as she put a small stack of chips, all but one, on a red square.

"Black 13" The woman running the wheel cried. Lisa cursed.

"Damn it, I've lost every bet this evening" She said, "All I've got is this chip" It was a green and yellow striped chip, with a 50 on it. "I'm betting red, I feel lucky"

"You gambled away all of our money?!" Michael cried, "Give me the chip"

"I'm betting it on red, you'll have to wrestle it out of my cold, dead, gloved hands!"

"You tell them!" Rush cried. I sighed.

"Rush, you can't honestly be taking her" Rush fired a water gun, hitting me in the eye. "Okay, now I'm pissed!" I jumped, attempting to bite Rush, but never got two feet off the ground. Enfer reached over and bit me on the end of my tail, holding me in the air, before setting me on the ground. "What the fuck was that for?"

"You don't want to get involved in this"

"Let go of me!!!!" Lisa screamed, as she attempted to put the chip down on the table, Michael having jumped on her back and trying to stop her. Every one was staring at us, several wanted Michael to pull her top off. The game corner woman spun the wheel, and all the bets were locked.

"Why did you want to bet red?" Louis asked, staring at the now spinning ball. "It's going to land on double zero"

"Dude" Michael said, "You can't actually believe that you can predict where the ball will land. I mean, it would be cool if you could but it wont land on"

"Double zero!" The woman said. Every one turned to Louis. Louis shrugged, adjusting L3.

"I know how fast she spins, and I kinda am able too count how many places the little ball will bounce"

"He has value!" I cried, "Proclaim it from the highest mountain tops, Louis has value!" Michael plucked the chip out of Lisas' hand (earning him an angry growl from Virgil) and handed it to Louis.

"Where will it land?"

"Uh, black 33" Louis placed the chip down, as the roulette wheel began to spin. It began to slow, and the ball bounced from number slot to slot. I could only hear the ball bouncing and my own heart beat, as the ball finally clacked to a stop at black 33.

We made a killing. Louis turned that one chip into fifty, which he then turned into a hundred, and so on, and so on. When we put down a stack of chips, every one did. It got so bad, the hotel sent people over to inform us that we had won to much, and if we didn't stop, they would destroy us in the alley with baseball bats.

We went to cash the chips, but they refused to cash more then half of them, so we were left with a bag of worthless plastic. Eh, we still came out of it with more money then we went in, so who cares? Hooray for Lisas' stupidity!

* * *

It was late by the time we got back to the hotel room. Louis had done so much celebratory pot, Enfer now had him and L3 balanced on her back (Virgil held their legs up. Me and Rush were almost asleep, and in Michaels' arms. Titan was also almost asleep, but no one could carry him.

"Why do you gamble?" Michael asked, trying to make sense of the day. "I mean, you're essentially throwing away your money, paying the tax on the stupid. You can't win"

"I know that" Lisa said, "That isn't what's exciting about gambling. I don't want to win, I want to know I could win"

"I don't understand"

"It's the excitement of winning, the possibility. The risk and the danger, they couldn't be more enticing. I want that danger, that heart pounding rush, that feeling you get when you tell some one you love them" She smiled, "Some times you just have to take a risk"

"Maybe" Michael murmured. We came to our separate rooms, and Michael let us inside. He sat me and Rush on the bed, helped Titan up, then sat on the end of it, thinking, not speaking. Finally, after about fifteen minutes, he moved over to us, and whispered "I'll be right back, stay here" He walked out of the room, over to Lisas' door, and knocked twice.

"Yeah, what do you need?" She asked.

"Lisa, do you still have that bag of chips we won?"

* * *

"Another day, no trades" The gambling man said, looking at his Flaffy. "Oh well, I guess we'll try tomorrow" The poor creature had no response, to hungry and weak to make a noise.

"Excuse me sir" Michael said, walking to the gambler with the bag of chips, "You are the man trading the Flaffy, right"

"Yes, I am" He grinned, "Make me an offer" Michael looked at rings on the gamblers fingers.

"I have a bag full of game corner chips" Michael said. He tossed them to the man, who caught them with one hand. The man looked inside, and his eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. "I know, it's a lot. They're yours, in exchange for the Flaffy"

"Sold!" He exclaimed happily, tossing the Flaffy at Michael. Michael caught it, disgusted at the man, but didn't show it. The gambler ran off, laughing like an idiot.

"I'm taking a chance on you" Michael whispered to the unconscious creature, "I know you wont let me down"


	35. The Long Morning

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XXXV : The Long Morning**

I don't remember the night music from that night, because I was so frazzled from being woken up at near midnight. In hind sight, I was glad to be woken up, but at the time, I was pissed. I'm still a little pissed at how I was woken up.

I was asleep, in my comfortable little furry ball. I had the end of my tail in my mouth (four months, and still no idea what to do with that piece of shit). I was having a dream about Alexi and Marmela, where ever they might have been, when some one smacked me upside the head.

"Fuck balls" I screamed, my head snapping up. I felt some one grab me by the scruff of my neck. I cracked my eyes open, to see Louis holding me and Rush. I could also see Enfer, with Titan in her mouth.

"Sorry guys" I heard Lisa say from some where, "Michael needed us"

"It can't be that important" I groaned. Boy, was I wrong.

* * *

Pokemon centers are open all night, they are free to all pokemon and people. We sat in a recovery room, me and Rush on Michaels' lap, Titan on the floor. In front of us was a metal table, with a very weak looking Flaafy on it. It had a series of tubes running over and through it, including a large tube down its throat. It was also wired to about a dozen machines, each one beeping and flashing. The poor thing gave off a flash of electricity every few minutes.

"I'm going to name him Flash" Michael whispered, "If he makes it out of it"

"Why Flash?" Louis asked. The Flaafy gave off another flash of electricity.

"I don't know, why would I?" Michael asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. A nurse walked into the room, looking over the machines. Michael stood up. "Can you tell us any thing else?"

"Aside from what you already know? This poor Flaafy is suffering from extreme dehydration and malnutrition. If you shined a flash light directly in his eyes, he would have a heart-attack and die" The nurse sighed. "His brain is probably mush, we'll have to see. The next few days well tell us every thing, but if I were you, I would prepare for the worst." With that, the nurse checked one last machine and left.

"Michael, you have a gym battle tomorrow" Lisa said, "You need sleep" Michael shook his head. Frankly, I agreed with Lisa, we needed sleep.

"Can't leave him alone" Michael said, "He's my pokemon now, I have an obligation" Lisa smacked him upside the head. "What the heck!"

"You also have an obligation to your other pokemon. Keeping them up all night does not make you a good trainer, it makes you an idiot. Now go, me and Louis will watch"

"We will?" Louis asked. He smiled, "I mean, of course we will" Michael protested for a minute more, but finally relented.

* * *

Electric type, what can be said about them? They are a bitch of a type, strong against flying and water, weak to only ground. The only types that resist electric are grass and dragon, while ground is immune. When battling electric type, you can't go wrong with ground (although with Magnemite/ton/zone, you also can use fire and fighting type). Since a lot of electric-type can learn grass knot, and ground-type weigh a ton on principal, they are a real bitch. Let's look at how each starter does against them.

By now, you're starters have evolved, or you are an idiot. Combusken is probably the worst against all non-combination electric types. Combuskens' fighting type moves are physical, require physical contact, and sense a good number of electric-types have the ability static, Combusken will end up paralyzed. Stick to fire-type moves.

My Grovyle is resistant to electric-type, but not offensively strong against it. If Mew had had any mercy, it would have made grass-type strong against them also. Use leaf blade, or teach it earthquake. It's speed will come in handy in this battle.

Marshtomp is immune to electric-type, lucky bastard. No real strategy using it, put it out first and you most likely will never have to switch out. If Rush had evolved, then we would be going into this battle with a major advantage. Instead, we might be fucked before we've began.

* * *

"Wattson has supposedly been loosing it" Michael mumbled to him self, as we entered the empty lobby, "Probably why people go to the ice-type gym in Azure town" We followed behind Michael, Titan clanking on the metal floor.

"Angel, am I resistant to electricity?" Titan asked.

"Of course not"

"What about me?" Rush asked, jumping up and down a little, "Am I resistant, am I?"

"You had the chance to be, but no you nit" I sighed, "I'm also not resistant. On top of that, there are three of us, and Wattson battles with four pokemon. What fun" Michael opened the door to the trainers hall way, the one with the multi colored tiles. A video camera was mounted above it, Wattson was watching us. "I remember this hall" I snarled, "I'm not going to let it get the best of me"

"What is she talking about?" Rush asked. Titan shrugged. We took one step in, all of us on one tile. I, and I alone, got electrocuted.

"DAMN IT"

* * *

Seventy-two shocks of varying severity later, we made it to the end of the hall. I looked like a puff ball, which Michael thought was cute. He picked me up and smoothed out my fur, as we walked inside.

The challengers mat was empty, and an old, white-haired man was on the gym leaders mat. He was laughing. Crazy old freak.

"I am Wattson, might I assume you are here for a gym battle?"

"Yes I am. I'm Michael Luccelli, and I don't mean to be rude, but can we get started" Wattson looked a little hurt, but he nodded in agreement.

"Alright, come on Magneton" A three eyed jumble of metal balls popped out, with six magnets. The thing floated at least a foot off of the ground, but it doesn't have the ability levitate. Instead, it has some kind of magnetic ability that only affects steel-type.

"Okay, Rush you're up" Rush kipped happily, and ran onto the field. This was smart for two reasons. One, although Rush was weak against electric-type, it's best to put out your weakest first, not have them last. Second, water is the only type among us that Magneton was not resistant to.

"Magneton thunder wave"

"Rush, mud slap" Rush smacked a stream of hard mud straight at Magneton, who avoided and fired a thing bolt of electricity. Rush smacked the mud at the electricity, and the two canceled each other out.

Mudkip shot out a water gun, as Wattson ordered shock wave. The small electric charge went down Rushs' water gun, and electrocuted him.

"Oooow! That hurt!" Rush cried. Michael ordered another mud slap, but this one missed.

"Tri-attack" A blast of ice, fire, and electricity hit Rush, and Rush was _frozen?!_ Rush's little body was completely coated in ice. The stupid floating chunk of metal slammed into Rush sending him flying, and shattering the ice. Rush stood up slowly, shaking the ice crystals off of him self. He did not look happy. "Okay, now thunder bolt Magneton"

"Mud sport Rush" Rush kicked mud (where is it coming from?) every which way, including on Magneton. Magnetons' electricity ended up hitting each one of the pieces of mud, and the mud coating the metal freak kept him from firing any more electricity. All he could do was give off a few weak sparks. Michael ordered another water gun, and Rush happily complied. Although it washed the mud off, the force of the water gun (caused by Rushs' ability Torrent) sent it spinning. It slammed into the ground hard, and was knocked out.

* * *

"Why did Michael trade for this Flaffy?" Louis asked, scratching L3 behind the ears, "It's near death and so weak. Can you imagine how long it will take the thing to get better, if it gets better?" He sighed, and pulled out a joint. Lisa plucked it out of his hands and tossed it to Enfer, who destroyed it with a flame-thrower. "No fair!"

"Tell me, when you first met Enfer. If she had been this bad, would you have helped her?"

"No, probably not" Lisa gave off a cry, and smacked him upside the head, before Enfer bit him on the leg. "What was that for?!"

"Being a nit wit" They said in unison. Virgil was standing right beside the Flaafy, absolutely silent. His breathing had gotten as slow as that of a reptile, and his body was a stiff as a statue. If you didn't know any better, you would think he was dead. Another flash of electricity, so weak none of it effected Virgil.

"Hey Lisa, what does that mean?" Louis said, pointing to one of the machines. The screen showed a green light that would spike every few seconds, except it was going slower.

"That's his heart rate monitor. But it shouldn't be" Flash flat-lined.

* * *

"You did good" Wattson laughed, "But this next one wont be easy, come on out Electrike"

"He called that easy?" Rush huffed. "I feel so tired" Rush managed to stay up, as a small, green, wolf like thing appeared on the field. It growled at Rush.

"Okay Rush, mudshot" Rush woozily shot mud straight at the Electrike. It dodged and fired a thundershock. So tired, Rush simply collapsed from the hit.

"Rush return" Michael said, recalling the Mudkip. He sighed, "Sorry you had to go through with that. Come on Titan, you next" Titan gave an affirmative, and ran onto the field, clinking the entire way. "Okay Titan, rock tomb"

"Electrike, use thunder shock again" Titan threw rocks straight at Electrike, scattering them around the little green thing. When only it's head was exposed, he threw a giant rock (another thing, where do those rocks come from?). The big rock never made contact though, as the thunder shock smashed it into gravel. Electrike still ended up hurt as the pieces pelted it.

Electrike shook off the rocks. It's body began to crackle, and it charged at Titan, using spark. Michael ordered metal claw, which Titan used to flip Electrike. Since it was a steel-type attack though, it passed the electricity into Titan, paralyzing him. Also, since it was a steel-type attack, being slammed into the ground did more damage.

"Let's end this Electrike, use" Titan suddenly slammed into Electrike. "What in the world?"

"Body slam" Michael said, "It's a great move"

"So, now they're both paralyzed?" Wattson laughed, "Good, I'm having a lot of fun. Well, Electrike do what ever you can" Both of them attempted to move, but nothing happened.

"I'm going to switch Titan out" Michael said, withdrawing Titan into his pokeball. "Angel, you're up" I marched less then happily onto the field. I was not looking foreword to this battle, since I was willing to bet being electrocuted would not agree with me.

"You know, since Electrike can't move, the ball is entirely in your court" Wattson laughed, "I'm not kidding, I'm screwed!" Of course you are, wacko. I lined up in front of Electrike, waiting for my command.

"Angel, let's make this as painless as possible. Shadow ball" I formed a ball of energy in my mouth, and fired, hitting Electrike point blank. Blood spurted from it's tiny muzzle, as it was sent flying. It landed on its head, and passed out.

I stared at the pokemon for a second, before turning back as Wattson withdrew it. He pulled out another pokeball, and released his third pokemon, a giant pokeball. Voltorb? Voltorb really? Why an electric type that sucks so fucking much? Why not Manectric or Electabuzz? "Voltorb, thunder wave"

"Angel, dodge" Voltorb shot out thin streams of electricity at me, and I jumped as fast as I could. I get hit, I'm fucked, so I needed to move fast. I kept dodging, until that stupid ball finally ran out of steam. "Good job Angel, use quick attack" I ran and slammed into the ball, sending it flying. Sense I wasn't paralyzed, I could assume its ability was sound proof. For some reason, Wattson was smiling.

"Voltorb, use roll out" As it began to spin, Michael ordered a shadow ball. I waited, until its charging body was within a foot of me. I then fired, aimed towards the bottom of it, and sent it flying up above me. _That ought to do it_, I thought. What I didn't see was the still spinning Voltorb land behind me, moving so fast that it had hit me in no time flat. Rather then roll off of me though, it pinned me to the ground, almost resting on top of me.

"What the fuck?"

"Voltorb, self-destruct" Shit pickle. I saw the ball glow white. I don't remember much after that, I'm pretty sure I was flying through the air. Michael had me in his arms some time, and I could see he had sent Titan out again. One of our pokemon, versus Wattsons' last one. Wattson released a Manectric.

The match was over before it started. Titan couldn't use rock tomb, because he still couldn't move. Wattson ordered a thunder fang, and Manectric finished off Titan. I know what went wrong. We only had three pokemon, no ground type, we were all tired from the night before, and Michael was distracted by Flash. But none of it mattered.

We lost. Fuck.


	36. Behind The Iron Mask and Razor Claws

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XVI : Behind the Iron Mask and Razor Claws**

"How could we fucking loose!" I screamed, "We fucking lost, how did we loose? There is no fucking way my strategy could have been fucking wrong. If Michael had had some fucking brains, and not been a stupid shit, he would have caught a fucking Trapinch (he would eventually, but more on that later)" I let out a scream of frustration.

"Hey, is Angela cursing more then normal?" Rush asked.

"Fucking asshole, I ought to fucking come back and blow his fucking head off"

"I can't tell" Titan said, shaking slightly as he walked. Rush frowned.

"Something wrong?" He asked, concerned. Titan giggled nervously, and shook his head rapidly. I was to busy cursing to notice Titans' problems. Leaving the gym was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. My little legs felt like cement, and the heat made the day feel like hell on earth.

"There is a 24 hour time period before we get to try again" Michael said, "But I want to spend a day training" He looked down at us, and smiled. "Don't worry, we're going to beat him next time" Titan began to cry, although the only way you could tell was if you noticed little lines of water leaking out of the holes in his iron mask. None of us did.

* * *

When we got to the pokemon center, Flash was now wired to what was essentially a giant battery, along with all of the other machines. The battery thing kept making little zapping noises, right before the heart-rate monitor beeped. The battery was keeping him alive, making his weak organs work.

"His heart stopped for almost a minute" Lisa said, "They need your permission to get him into surgery?"

"S-surgery?" Michael asked, stuttering a little. He looked unsure of every thing, but trying to comprehend what was happening. He obviously wasn't. "I don't understand"

"Electric type pokemon produce their own electricity, which keeps their bodies running. Flash needs to literally needs to be jump started" Michael gulped, then nodded.

"I don't care, what ever needs to be done" Michael paused "How are we going to be paying?"

"Don't worry 'bout paying dude" Louis said, beer in hand, "It's gonna be paid by good old cousin Lou" Who the hell says that? Even more, where the hell did he get the beer from?!

I bet every one expected me to be concerned about Flash, but to be honest, I wasn't very. I mean, if he died I would be sad, but I didn't really know him. I was more upset by the way he was dying, then the actual fact he was dying. No body deserved to die that way, but I would feel the same way no matter who was in that situation. That may not be the nice, romanticized view people choose to take on death, that you automatically care about some one if they're dying, but it's the truth

A couple of nurses came in, one holding a clip-board. They asked Michael to sign over permission for surgery, and wordlessly, he signed. They left, and a minute later, a few more nurses came in and removed all but the battery from Flash.

"Can I watch?"

"It would be better if you didn't" The nurse said. I noticed she was wearing rubber scrubs, I suppose to prevent electrocution. They then wheeled Flash out of the room, wheeling the battery as well.

"Bye Flash" We said in unison.

"Please live" Michael whispered.

* * *

An hour later, Flash was still in surgery, and no sleep was taking its toll on most of us. Louis and Lisa were asleep, and Rush had fallen asleep in Lisas' arms. Enfer was on the floor on her side. Michael was asleep, and I was fighting hard to fend off drowsiness. The only people awake were Titan and Virgil (I think). Titan was shaking a little, but I don't know why.

"Alright, I give" I mumbled, curling up. Right before I closed my eyes, I saw Virgil walk over to Titan.

"God knows I'm extremely uncomfortable with these types of situations" Virgil said, "But your shaking is annoying to me, so I must ask, what is the matter?"

"T-they've told me Michael wont get rid of me"

"So?" Virgil obviously didn't care if he heard the answer or not.

"I'm afraid he will" Titan said, straining with each word. "I've never told any one this, but I've been captured before" I opened my eyes, smelling dirt.

"Really?" Titan nodded.

"I was released, and I can't be released again" Titan said, "I just can't take it"

I'm going to turn over narrating duties to Titan for this part of the story, since I experienced none of it. I hate to let some one else tell you a story, but Titans' story is important to mine. Well, it is eventually.

* * *

Most pokemon actually don't mind getting captured. That's something humans don't understand, for pokemon, getting captured is the chance to have an adventure. When a pokemon gets captured, they expect to be making a bond that will last a life time. That's a crock of shit.

"Come on Ambrose, a little longer" Easy for him to say, I was the one who was having trouble staying up. That irritating Marill hit me with another water gun, hitting me in the eye.

"I'm trying Bimmy" I was on a beach, something I hated because I sunk into the sand when I walked. My trainer stood behind me, a boy named Bimmy. That's right, Bimmy. His parents must have hated him. I didn't though, in spite of the fact he named me Ambrose, I loved him.

"Alright you stupid tin can, use rock-throw" I nodded, and pulled rocks out of the sand (they just sort of came out of the ground). I tossed them at this giggling blue ball, except they bounced off of the ball, and hit me in the face. They didn't crack my mask, my mask shattered them into gravel. I can't wait to evolve into Aggron, my armor will be able to deflect a missile.

"God you're worthless" Bimmy said, sighing. "I work so hard with you, and you give me this shit. Alright, use tackle" I ran, as fast as my little peg legs would carry me, and hit Marill head on. I ended up flipping on my back after flipping twice. The Marill then shoots a water gun on my exposed chest. It burned so much, I began to see little white spots from the pain.

"GET UP YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Bimmy screamed, throwing sand on my as I squirmed, "GET UP! GET UP! GET UP!"

"If he doesn't turn over, we win" The Marills' trainer said, a smile on her face. The Marill was also smirking, and since I couldn't beat her trainers' face in, I would settle on her. I used most of my energy to flip back over.

"Tackle again you fuck!" Bimmy yelled, spittle flying from the corners of his mouth. I took off, faster then my legs could carry me, until my blood turned to acid and was burning me alive. I ignored it, and hit the Marill head on, sending it flying into the air. The only way I was going to beat her was if she never came down.

Bimmy yelled at me to do a rock throw, but I had already started. I threw one, and it bounced the blue ball up, a second threw it higher. As it came down, I threw another rock and bounced it up again. I might have felt sorry for the little blue girl, except I wanted to win. No, that's not true, I had to win. Bimmy had made it very clear, the next battle I lost really would be the last battle I lost. He would release me, probably was going to any ways.

Finally, a rock missed the Marill, and it fell out of the sky like a big blue bowling ball. I ran, so it would land on top of me, and when it did, it bounced hiiiiiiiiigh! I had calculated it in such a way (people automatically assume I'm stupid) that she would hit her trainer on the head when she came down. Her trainer evidently didn't like getting bonked on the head. She spun like a top, before collapsing face first in the sand. I laughed my ass off. I won, I won! At this point in time, I had won three battles, and loss nineteen. I was not very good.

I trotted back to Bimmy, a smile on my face under my mask (Aron do have mouths, you just can't see them). Bimmy looked at the unconscious trainer, at me, and back to the trainer. He bent down, to where he could see me, and at first I thought he was going to congratulate me. Instead, he felt around in the sand until he pulled out a small rock. He then pitched it at my head.

"You dumb ass" Bimmy said, "Why the fuck did it take you so long to win? When you battle, you reflect me. Jesus, let's get out of here"

I had been born and raised in Granite Cave in Dewford, by my Lairon parents. They had both believed that evolving any higher was a waste when you had no interest in battling, all they cared about was raising me and my 22 siblings (5 brothers, 17 sisters). They wanted us never to be captured, they kept us in the lowest chamber in the damn cave. That didn't work though, because I wanted to get captured so that I could get stronger. Eventually, I was wondering through the various chambers in the cave, and I ran into Bimmy. History was made.

Bimmy had an interesting view on life. He believed that if he ever lost a battle, it was because some one else cheated. Bimmy wanted to be a trainer, largely because both of his brothers, Paul and Zach, were coordinators. He wanted to beat, as he put it, the two fruits at life. Paul and Zach had gone on to compete in Sinnoh, after doing fantastic in Hoenn. Bimmy couldn't beat random trainers on the beach, I was the one who did it. My strength carried us, mine!

After the battle, we went back to Bimmys' house. Where his parents were, I don't honestly know. Bimmy brought me back to feed me, something I'm sure he only did because I was tired, and we couldn't battle until I ate. While I ate, Bimmy went to his room to jerk off, and Bimmys' families pet came into the room with me.

"Hello Ambrose" Diana said. Bimmys' family kept a Skitty as a pet, one they let Bimmy name. He claimed she was named after the hunter goddess, I bet on she was named after Diana Rigg. I flipped my iron mask back over my face (no one is allowed to see an Arons' face but an Aron), and turned to her, smiling.

"Hello Diana, have you reconsidered my offer?"

"To have you mount me in the back yard, and take me until the early hours of the morning?" Diana laughed, "Yeah, I'd rather be ripped limb from limb"

"So that's a firm no?" She swatted me with her tail. "Never hurts to ask"

"Good, because now I must ask" Diana said, "How are things with you and Bimmy? Are they getting any better"

"No" I said, sighing. "He still treats me like garbage. I don't know why, I don't deserve this"

"I know you don't" Diana said, "But I can even understand how Bimmy works. Bimmy is so determined to prove his superiority to his brothers, that he will literally do any thing to prove it. He wants to be strong, but he wants to be strong over night. Even if that means treating his pokemon like crap, and releasing them"

"Me being them" Diana nodded, "How do you know so much about humans?" She let out a nervous laugh.

"Uh, I'm just smart" She said, "Oh look, Bimmy" I turned my head, to see Bimmy coming, scowl firmly painted on his face.

"Time to go Ambrose" He snarled.

* * *

Back to the beach we went, something I really did not want to do. Lot's of trainers all around, it didn't take Bimmy long to find competition, in the form of a girl who looked like she did a thousand stomach crunches a day. Bimmy and work-out girl stood twenty feet apart, and I waited for her pokemon.

"What could it be" I mumbled. The girl enlarged the pokeball, and released something small. It had blue and black fur, a little muzzle, and the beginning of spikes on its paws, a Riolu. Great, just great, a fighting-type. My ass will get kicked, the only way it could be worse would be if it were a Lucario. It was neutral to steel-type moves, would Bimmy know this?

"Ambrose, use rock throw" Evidently, not. Sighing, I pulled rocks out of no where, and started throwing them at Riolu. Riolu evidently knew brick-brake, and smashed each rock as them came. It then rushed at me.

Since I had all of the speed of a rock, and I was having to run backwards, and I ended up flipping on my back, kicking my four legs in the air. Riolu jumped and used drain punch on my stomach, hurting me and draining me at the same time. It was like getting hit by four punches. Pain so intense, that I thought my stomach was about to crack open.

"Don't let him up, use force palm" I screamed, as Riolu forced it's little palm across my stomach, paralyzing me. Now I couldn't even scream, or move. "Use focus blast to finish it" A beam of energy shot out of that little bastards paws, throwing me into the air and flipping me like a coin. I didn't even remember hitting the ground.

* * *

The only way Bimmy could transport me while I was unconscious was in my pokeball, a vile contraption that I hated with all my heart and soul. When I regained consciousness, I was still paralyzed, and standing at the entrance of a cave. Granite cave, oh God no. No please no.

"Ambrose, I'm returning you where I found you" Bimmy said, disgust in his voice, "You've been a disappointment, and a weakling, I can't have that. So good-bye, and good riddance" He told me all of this to my back, and left with out bothering to even look at me. I couldn't turn to him, since I was paralyzed. I couldn't cry, or move. All I could do was stare at the cave, and listen as Bimmy smashed my pokeball.

* * *

"I was able to move in a few hours" Titan said. My eyes' were almost bulging out of their sockets. You never really know some one, do you? "Any ways, I couldn't find my family, so they were either captured or gone. I lived alone until Michael captured me" Virgil nodded, having listened to the entire conversation with out moving. "But, I no longer feel any anger over Bimmy"

"Yes you do" Virgil said, "You feel indescribable anger"

"No I don't"

"You changed your trainers name to Bimmy, but you left his brothers names alone. You would only do that if you really hated him" Titan sighed, then started to giggle.

"I don't hate him" He looked up, a crazy look in his eyes, "I want to kill him. When I evolve into Aggron, if I see him again, I will brake him in two" Titan seemed giddy about this.

"Don't Titan" Virgil said, "You need to forgive Bimmy"

"What do you know?" Titan snarled.

"I know about anger and rage" Virgil said, in an icy voice. "It can eat you up inside, make you do something you regret, make you kill. It'll come back to haunt you" Virgil almost seemed to have emotion, "To get over it, you need to find something. First, I served Lisa, and then I found some one knew to care about"

"Who?" Virgil gestured to Enfer. Titan looked at her, back at Virgil, and to her again. "You two are bumping uglies?"

"In disgusting terms, yes" Then, Virgil did something more surprising then Moses parting the red sea. He smiled. "I love her, she doesn't know it, but I've fallen in love with her"

"Wait, what does this" The doors to the room slammed open, waking every one but Rush up. Two nurses pushed a table, with Flash on it. Their was a line of stitches on his chest, but he wasn't hooked up to the battery. Michael sat me down on the ground as he stood up.

"How is he, is he alright?" One of the nurses smiled.

"The operation was a success, your Flaafy is making its own electricity. It'll take awhile for the stitches to dissolve, but your Flaafy will most likely be eating on its own with in a week"

"T-thank you" Michael stammered. The nurses both nodded, hooked up the machines again, and then left. Michael stroked Flashs' belly. The pitiful creature looked up at Michael. It mouthed out words, but was so weak.

"Hello little boy"


	37. Rematch

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XXXVII : Re-match**

We spent the next day training. Michael finally used my book to see we were each trained a level lower then Wattsons' fucking Manectric, and we needed to be at least equal to the damn thing. On top of that, since we don't have a ground type, or a ground type move, we had nothing particularly effective against electric-types. Finally, the cherry on the shit Sunday, since we only had three active pokemon on our roster, some one would have to go twice and win both times.

Right now, we were in the pokemon center. Flash was still to weak to sit up, much less battle. He kept drifting in and out of consciousness, occasionally woken up by the beeping machines. Most of us were concerned, but I still wasn't terribly. I know that's a horrible thing to say, but I didn't know Flash. Who knows, I probably would care a lot more some day, just not now.

After a day of training, we had each reached level 24. Titan had hoped that would be when he evolved, and I honestly hated to point out Aron traditionally evolve at level 32. I at least understood why Titan wanted to evolve, because he wanted to get stronger. I can't believe I'm agreeing with Titan on something. I hope that never happens again, it gives me the shakes.

Rush was asleep in Lisas' lap. Every so often he kipped in distress, having a new nightmare. This one Rush told me about, after the first time he had it two days ago. It was simple, him getting electrocuted. As Rush put it, he was surprised getting electrocuted hurt! Rush will never be considered genius material.

Why we were still at the pokemon center that morning I will never understand, as far as I'm concerned, we should have been at the gym the moment the sun came up. Michael wanted to stay for a while with Flash, since he hadn't spent that much time with him the day before. Michael would need to eliminate those emotional weaknesses during our rematch.

The entire freaking morning we did nothing. Michael flipped through my strategy book, analyzing it, like he was looking for some hidden meaning. Lisa was writing another one of her damn unpublished books, occasionally stroking Rush. Louis had pulled out the good weed, and after sparking a doobie, he was dancing on Pluto. L3 was still a lump, except she was a lump draped on three chairs. Virgil was asleep on Enfer, who was also asleep. They looked happy, oh how I hated that. I was at the door to the room, I kept pawing at it, trying to get Michaels' attention. Nothing.

Finally, after eleven, Michael looked up from my book, finally noticing the time.

"Oh crud, I wanted to get to the gym a half an hour ago" He said, flipping my book shut and standing up, "Oh well. Come on guys, let's go and probably get our asses kicked" He turned to Lisa "You will of course"

"Yeah, we'll stay here. Go on dude, go"

* * *

Wattsons' gym had seen better days. A gym battle from the day before had blown out all of the power, so as we walked in the front door, the irony kicked us in the crotch. An electric-type gym had a power outage. The only things working were the lights, and the cameras in the lobby (they had their own power system). But on the positive side, I was able to walk down that little hall with the bright tiles, and not get shocked.

Wattson was in his gym, if I hadn't known better, I would have thought he hadn't moved from his gym-leader mat, crazy old freak. When he saw Michael, his eyes lit up.

"I know you, you're Michael Luccelli, you challenged me a few days ago" Wattson laughed, "Have you come to challenge me again?"

"Yes, I have" Michael said, "Let's get started"

"Trainers, so pushy" Wattson mumbled, "Alright, same as before?" Michael nodded, taking his place on the trainers mat. "Well, then let's get started. You first Electrike"

"Mixing things up I see" I mumbled, "That's a good idea, keeps trainers guessing"

"You're a little edgy" Rush said.

"I hate loosing" I growled through clenched teeth. Michael looked down at us, weighing which one of us would be best.

"Okay Titan, I guess you're up first" Titan nodded, and trotted out, tin head held high. He looked ready to do anything, and about to fail at every thing.

"Challenger gets first move"

"Well, in that case, Titan use rock-tomb" Titan began tossing rocks from no where, surrounding Electrike on all sides. Electrike jumped out of the little rock wall, only to be slammed back down by a larger rock, the top of the tomb. Woozily, Electrike got back to its feet.

"Electrike, shock wave"

"Iron defense Titan" This was smart, since Titan wasn't fast and couldn't evade unless the opponent was extremely slow. Seeing as Electrikes' best advantage was its speed, the only other option was for Titan to take the attack.

A wall of electricity shot out of Electrike, and hit Titan. Titan curled up so only the metal parts of his body were exposed, and the electricity did almost nothing. Titan stood up, and shook off.

"Tackle" Titan put his head down, and ran into Electrike as fast as he could, hitting the little green dog thing head on. Electrike got thrown, hitting the ground hard with a hard crack. Michael didn't let up, and ordered a metal claw. Titan slammed his glowing white leg into Electrikes' stomach, knocking the air out of the tiny thing. It gasped once more, its eyes' bulging, before it passed out. One down, three more to go.

"Ha-ha-ha, very good" Wattson laughed. What kind of freak laughs when their pokemon gets knocked out? Wattson pulled out a second pokeball, but before he could release it, Michael did something surprising.

"Titan, come back" Michael commanded. "Rush, you go" I looked at Rush, who was ecstatic just for being selected. He kipped happily, and ran onto the field, headphone wagging. Wattson released his second pokemon, that fucking Magneton. Magneton gave me nightmares, I mean, what the fuck is it? How does it eat? How does it shit, or reproduce (I'm betting by budding).

"Rush, mud sport"

"Sonic boom" Rush began tossing magic mud in the air, anticipating an electric type attack. Instead, Magneton fired off a wave of concentrated sound (where did the sound come from?), slicing the mud in pieces, and hitting Rush head on. Sonic wave s an extremely weak attack though, and Rush barely got hurt.

Rush used mud slap next, hitting it in its upper eye. Magneton is quadruple weak to ground, so even an extremely weak attack like mud slap would cause some damage. Before Rush could do any thing else, Magneton floated back as fast as it could.

"Thunder bolt" Sparks appeared in Magnetons magnets, before a giant bolt of electricity shot off of its metal body at Rush. Rush evaded it, and it harmlessly went into the ground. As Magneton attempted to shoot again, Michael ordered a second mud sport. Pieces of mud covered Magneton, blocking its electricity. It got an annoyed look in all three of its eyes, and tried to zap again. Nothing. It would be thirty seconds before the mud fell off.

"Alright, Magneton use super sonic" A loud screeching noise shot out of this shitty piece of metal. If it didn't shut up, even I was going to end up confused. Finally, it stopped. Rush appeared okay, even happy.

"Mud slap again" Rush pitched a line of hardened mud, back at him self. He hit hard enough to be knocked on his back. "Rush!" Rush for some reason began butting his against the ground. Wattson ordered shock wave, after the mud finally dried off, and zapped Rush.

"Kiiiiip!" Rush was zapped out of confusion by the shock wave, but he looked a little fried. He kept twitching, and I feared he might have been paralyzed. Magneton flew straight at Rush using tackle, and sent him flying! Rush hit the ground back first, very hard. This time when he stood up, he wasn't twitching. I can't believe I was saying this, he looked not happy!

I would say mad, but Rush is incapable of mad. Wattson and Michael ordered two attacks at once, Michael another mud sport, and Wattson thunder shock. Michael though ordered Rush to aim at Magnetons' eyes, completely blinding it. Magneton began to spin like a top, firing electricity every where, Rush jumping to avoid it.

"This is so much fun!" Rush squealed, dodging another shock. Magneton spun into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dirt. Before it could get back up, Michael commanded water gun. Since Magneton was significantly weakened, it didn't survive this. It passed out, and Wattson recalled the hunk of metal.

"That's two for me and none for you, I'm very impressed" Wattson laughed, "You did a good amount of training in one day. Now, lets continue. Come on Voltorb" A giant pokeball appeared on the field, the second worst electric type ever. I never understood why the hell Wattson had a Voltorb, aside from the fact it was a giant rolling, red and white bomb. "Voltorb, use roll out"

"Mud slap, don't stop until it stops" The giant pokeball began to spin, until it was noting more then a circular white blur. As it spun at Rush, Rush used mud slap, over again and again. Voltorb continued to spin, but wasn't getting any closer. It was digging into the ground, and turned brown from mud, until the mud shell finally stopped its movement. "Now use water gun"

Rush shot off a water gun, pushing him in the air, and causing water to flow over the brown orb. If we had thought for five seconds, we would have realized the mud was washing off, and even though it was in the air, it didn't stop Voltorb from using shock wave. The electricity flowed down the water gun, zapping Rush in the mouth. The water gun stopped, and Rush passed out.

"Rush!" Michael sighed, and with drew Rush. He looked at his pokeball, whispered something, and clipped it around his lap. Michael looked at me and Titan, and nodded at me. "Angel, you're up"

"Angel, which Angel?" I cried. The last time I went up against this stupid pokeball, it pinned me to the ground and then exploded! It fucking exploded on me. Do you know what happens when something explodes on you? It fucking hurts. Since I had no choice though, I ran out on the field. "Angel, shadow ball"

I formed the sparking ball of black energy in my mouth, and fired right at it. Voltorb attempted to roll out of the way, but my shadow ball looped and hit Voltorb, exploding on it. When the smoke cleared, Voltorb was only a little harmed, and very pissed. It tried roll out again.

As it rushed at me, I used quick attack to jump over Voltorb. It stopped rolling as I jumped, and fired off a thunder shock at I landed. Electricity consumed my body, and I screamed. Since nerve impulses are essentially little electrical shocks, when you get electrocuted, you receive every possible feeling at once. Since pain is the strongest though, I felt it the most.

"Enough" I growled, "I am so pissed off" I thought of all of the moves I knew, and figured a quick plan. Step one, fake paralysis, which I did by not using hidden power when Michael ordered it. _Not yet_ I thought.

"Voltorb, roll over to that Eevee and use self-destruct" The Voltorb rolled over to me. _Still not yet. _Voltorb began to glow white, _mmm now!_ Michael had been ordering just about every attack, including quick attack which I used. I hit Voltorb fast, and sent it flying, moments before it exploded. Since it was no longer beside me, it exploded harmlessly in the air. I was hurt, but Voltorb was knocked out, so Wattson withdrew it.

"Wow, down to my last pokemon and you still have two. I guess it's time, Manectric you're up" At long last, the big blue wolf appeared on the field in front of me. It sniffed the air, and growled at me. Okay, it was unfriendly, but it couldn't hate me right?

"I will brake you" It snarled. Okay, it can hate me that much. Michael ordered quick attack, and I ran at it, attempting to hit it in the face. Instead, Manectric grabbed me with its mouth, biting down using thunder fang. Electricity flowed through my body, and I used hidden power to finally brake free. I was thrown on my back, as Manectric hacked.

"Angel use" I collapsed. "Uh, run away" Michael walked onto the field and scooped me up, Wattson permitting him to grab me. I was limp in his arms, and my fur smelled burnt. "Titan, you're up"

"Really, oh boy" Titan was nervous as he clanked out there. Oh, he knew Michael wouldn't release him, but he was still nervous. That wouldn't go away easily. Titan faced Manectric, who scowled at him.

"Pitiful"

"Thunder bolt Manectric"

"Titan, rock tomb" Titan tossed rocks at Manectric, who tripped on a rock and fell flat on its face. It was then hit on the head by a giant rock. Slowly, it stood up again, shaking rubble off, very pissed.

"Shock wave" Electricity fired off of the wolf thing, and Titan was unable to dodge. Electricity flowed across him, but he didn't scream. Tears rolled out of his clenched eyes, but he didn't scream. Titan got very mad.

"Titan use tackle" Titan ran straight at Manectric. It attempted to bite onto Titan like it did to me, but Titans' iron mask and weight stopped that. Instead, when Titan hit Manectric, he shattered its teeth.

Manectric was screaming, as teeth fragments fell to the ground. Michael ordered rock throw, and Titan pitched rocks at Manectric, hitting it time after time on the head. Manectric lunged at Titan, using thunder fang with out teeth. Titan ran back on his metal peg legs, and Manectric missed. Its eyes were bulging from rage.

"Thunder wave" This attack hit right on, and froze Titan in place. He struggled to move, but could only sort-of move his front legs. "Good, now thunder!"

"Iron defense" The strongest electric attack hit Titan, moments after he curled up. Titan uncurled, but he wouldn't last longer. It was okay, Michael didn't need longer. "Use rock tomb"

Manectric tried to use thunder, but Titan threw the giant top rock, and the thunder attack did nothing but smash the rock. Michael ordered it again, with the same result, and again. It took a moment, but I saw Manectric was moving slower, which reminded me that was a side effect of rock tomb. Finally, Titan used one last rock tomb faster then Manectric could use thunder. The rocks slammed into Manectric, and knocked the bastard out.

We won.

Fuckin' A.

* * *

Tagger was in a haze. Nothing made sense any more, he had been lead to this city, and he was never wrong. His enemy was here, some where, but where?! It didn't make sense, where could Taggers' enemy be, and why wasn't he being lead to them. Tagger felt burning tears of frustration, Tagger did not like this. _Calm down, you just have to calm down. _Tagger took a couple of deep breaths. _Maybe you were wrong, maybe you_

Taggers' head snapped up, grabbed by some unknown force, and was directed at a Grey cement building. On the building was a large sign reading GYM, in giant light up letters. Emerging from the gym, was a boy, maybe sixteen. He was extremely excited about something, was carrying a passed out Eevee, and was followed by an Aron, who looked slightly tarnished.

"This is the one" Tagger said, "Angela Duncan will die with him, he has to die" Taggers' head was pounding, "But I can't kill him here, I have to wait until he's out of the city. The first night he's gone, then I'll kill him, and all close to him"

_Then they will be mine._


	38. The Day Before

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XXXVIII : The Day Before**

It was supposed to be a normal day. Just another humdrum twenty-four hours, where nothing special happened. Lord knows it started out that way, but by the time it ended, every thing would change. I would say what happened, but I would rather make you wait.

Our day began not the day after we beat Wattson. It began two weeks later. We had to stay in fucking Mauville as Flash recuperated. They said they could get him eating on his own with in a week. Well they were full of shit, it ended up being two weeks, and even then he couldn't eat solid foods due to his weak ass jaw. So Michael was going to have o nurse him until he could eat again.

On the plus side, those stitches dissolved, so all Flash had now was a long pink scar on his chest, which we could barely see do to his pink skin. After a week, he could speak again, but only we could understand it. It was another two days before he spoke to us.

"Hey, hey you" Flash rasped. Seeing as Titan was the only one near the table, he looked up.

"Me?"

"I want you to pass a message on for me. Listen fast, I'm only going to say it once" Flash swallowed, and continued, "I thank you and your friends for saving me, and I thank my new trainer"

"Michael" Titan injected.

"Michael for bringing me here. He saved me, and I will be loyal out of gratitude. Finally, tell your friends don't judge my old trainer. He was a victim of his own addiction. Can you tell them this?"

"Yeah, I can"

"Good, thank you" Flash whispered, before passing out. Titan smiled, and walked over to Michaels' legs. I was in his lap, and Michael was reading my book. I looked down at him.

"You want something?"

"Flash talked to me, he told me to tell you" Titan paused. "He told me to tell you, uh"

"To tell me?"

"I can't remember" I shrugged.

"If it were important, he'll tell you again"

* * *

Five days later, it was finally time to go. Seeing as we had been there for two weeks, we decided to leave at day break, to see how much distance we could cover. The early morning was cool, and the city of Mauville was peaceful as we left, quiet and tranquil. What we couldn't see was that above us, a man watched us from a Skarmory. I'll get to him later.

"God I'm tired" I said, yawning, "Why did we leave this early?"

"You need to relax" Titan said, "This is the coolest it'll be all day"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but rock-type and partial rock-type are heat resistant"

"What's your point?" I screamed, and head-butted him. Seeing as Titan was half steel, half rock, I ended up doing more damage to my own skull. I grumbled, wishing I had hands to hold my aching head.

"What about him?" I asked, gesturing to Rush who was trotting along beside Lisa happily, "Why is he so cheerful?"

"He's still asleep. Watch" Titan pulled out a rock, and pitched it at Rush. The rock exploded into gravel upon smashing into Rush. Rush marched on cheerfully. Definitely asleep. It was some what cute though that even in his sleep, he followed Lisa.

"Is something the matter?" Virgil asked Enfer, who were walking behind us. Enfer has L3 draped over her. She seemed troubled and a very confused. She looked at Virgil, as if noticing him for the first time.

"Yeah something is" Enfer sighed, "I can feel it in my bones. He's coming"

"Him? Tagger is coming?" She nodded, "How can you be so sure"

"I've always known where he was, ever since the night on the bridge, when he killed me" Enfer paused, then continued "I've felt him coming for a while now, but he's so close, I keep expecting him to jump out at any moment. I knew he wouldn't until we were alone, and he'll most likely wait for tonight" She was beginning to cry now, "I have to protect Angela, above any one else, I have to protect my daughter. I'm the only one who knows what he is, and I can't let him hurt Angela" Virgil nodded.

"You said before, that you've fought him alone?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well you're not alone this time" Virgil said, "If Angela is who you have to protect, she's who I have to protect. I promise, I wont let her be hurt" If I hadn't been so tired, I would have asked about a thousand questions. Since I was almost asleep though, I didn't ask a thing.

Michael was carrying Flash, whose legs were still to weak to support his 35 pound frame. Michael had been given a list of physical exercises to do with Flash, so that Flash would regain his abilities to walk and make a decent amount of electricity. The exercises were best done indoors though.

"Which is the second reason we left so early, I know that about thirty miles outside of Mauville theirs like a big inn or something, a place for trainers to stay. They built it in the woods, and it's free to all trainers"

"How do you even know about this place?" Lisa asked.

"Louis told me"

"My dad was involved in the construction" Louis said, "He poured the concrete for the building"

"I thought your dad was a shoe salesman"

"He is, he also pours concrete" A shoe salesman who pours concrete, with mob connections. Nothing strange about that, no sir.

"Where am I?!" Rush screamed as he woke up. He looked up, saw Lisa, and started grinning. Dumb ass.

Nothing much of importance happened until that evening. Now the sun was setting, and we were lost.

"I don't get it, all we had to do was follow the route, and we would end up there" Michael said.

"I think things went wrong when we decided it would be more fun to walk through the woods instead of the route" Lisa said, "But who knows, maybe I'm wrong"

"I'm sure that if we take a right, we'll find"

"Trees!" Lisa exclaimed, cutting him off, "And if we go left, more trees. If we go south, any guesses? More freaking trees! Where is that mythical inn Michael? Show it to me"

"It's right there" Louis said, pointing. We all looked up, and in front of us was the back of a Victorian style, two story house. Where the hell did it come from?

"The place is located a half a mile off the route, how far in the woods are we?" Lisa asked. Did it matter, at least we were there. As we came closer to the house, we could see a boy and a woman with pokemon out, they were battling. The woman, who had a Trapinch, we had never seen. The boy though, with a Plusle and a Minun, we had seen.

"Is that Sam?" Michael asked, "It is. Hey Sam!" He called. Sam, the boy from the road to Mauville, turned. A look of exclamation appeared on his face, as the womans' Trapinch used dig.

"Hey, you're those people. Those people from that place" Evidently falling off of the bike route and landing on his head had had some long term damage. David and Miranda (a Plusle and Minun respectively) jumped off of the ground and scampered up Sam, so the Trapinch couldn't grab them with dig. Since they were no longer on the ground, Trapinch grabbed the closest thing. It popped out of the ground, grabbed Sams' left ankle, and pulled him into the ground, up to his knee. "Oooooh crap. Crap crap crap crap" Unable to help my self, I fell on my back, laughing my ass off.

Michael and the woman ran over, and helped pull Sam out of the ground. Sam was slightly dazed, and his brother and sister were laughing. Sam slowly dusted the dirt off of him, and the woman withdrew Trapinch. "That hurt a lot"

"Sam, how are you doing?" Lisa asked. "When we last saw you, you were heading to Rustboro"

"Oh yeah, now I remember. I went there, I lost four times, and I decided I needed to capture more pokemon"

"How many have you caught?"

"Well, none" Of course not. "I wouldn't even be here if I had won one battle. Who would have known Geodude was immune to electricity?"

"He's kidding right?" I asked David and Miranda. They shook their heads. "Nice to see you again. Won any battles?"

"We love our brother, but he's an incompetent trainer" Titan and Rush shrugged, not sure what was going on"

"Any ways, I've been trying to win a battle, but haven't won one yet" Sam said, "I ended up here earlier, and this woman challenged me to a battle"

"Sharon, Sharon Rhodes" She said, introducing her self. "Member of the anti-evolve battling league"

"What is that?" Rush asked.

"A bunch of idiots who are dedicated to battling with not evolved pokemon"

"She doesn't seem like an idiot" The woman had her head shaved, and was wearing a bright red unitard. On the back was Anti-evolution League, in sequined letters. She was either an idiot, or a freak.

"So, what are you people doing here?"

"We wanted a room" Michael said, "After we get one, you want a battle?"

"Sure" Sam said, "Why not"

_

* * *

_

Tyger, tyger burning bright! In the forests of the night! What immortal hand or eye, could frame thy fearful symmetry?

Tagger recited his favorite poem in his hand, The Tyger. It had been written by William Blake, a superior man like Tagger, one he wished he could have met. The chaos they could have caused to the lesser men would have truly been extraordinary. His poetry Tagger knew by heart, and he had recited The Tyger over one hundred thousand times while in prison. This was not the time to think about what could have been, but to think about what would be.

Tagger had bought a Winchester Model 70, most likely hot, but had only been able to buy fifteen rounds. He had also bought a double action colt Anaconda, best for short distances. Along with his machete and three pokemon, Tagger only needed these guns for what he had planned. Tagger had every thing planned, down to his three pokemon. Right now, he was spying on a group from his Skarmory, who would provide air support later that night.

Tagger was drawn to the group, the group of Angela Duncan. Their was one woman in the group, but she wasn't Angela Duncan. Tagger didn't question what his mind was telling him, if it said she was in that group, Tagger had to kill each one of them. Then Angela Duncan would die.

Tagger had begun thinking about what he would do after he killed Angela Duncan. Since he had escaped from prison, he had to have some purpose in life, so he had begun doing research on various world leaders. Frankly, the world as it was disgusted him, with the lesser men walking around happily, no clue that they were insignificant bugs, waiting for some one like Tagger to squish them. A few murders, some anarchy, would lead to chaos. The absolute destruction of the lesser men and their world was Taggers' dream.

Now was not the time to think about Taggers' vision of the world, but to get ready for tonight. He watched the little group, as they ended up at a large wooden house, and started talking to a couple of people out side of the house. Tagger hadn't counted on a house full of people, he planned to kill them in their sleep. Eh, a few extra deaths would test Tagger, and might even be fun. He gestured to Skarmory to land in the woods, where they couldn't see him. This would be fun.

* * *

"One room" Louis said, "They have twenty, and there is only one available. It's room fifteen, isn't that unlucky? What am I supposed to do tomorrow when I want to watch get the fuck up Hoenn?"

"It's room thirteen that's unlucky, dumb ass. What do you normally do?" Lisa asked, holding Flash.

"Well, first I pull down my pants, then I take a bottle of olive oil and"

"STOP" Michael and Sam were now battling, me for Michael, and both David and Miranda for Sam. That crazy Sharon lady was standing behind Michael, watching.

"Let me just say, how supportive I am of you choosing not to evolve your Eevee, so many people choose to"

"I am going to" Michael said, "I just don't know what Angel wants to evolve into" I cringed when he used the E word. Sharons' face dropped, and she stepped back. "Sam, you can go first"

"Okay good" Sam pulled his pokedex out from his back pocket. "Now, what attacks can you guys do?" He began rapidly pressing buttons, "Now that's a good move, but that one is stronger, but it's less accurate!" Sam did this for five minutes, before Michael finally gave up and ordered a shadow ball. David and Miranda were thrown in the air like bowling pins.

"The mystery of him never wining a battle deepens" I said sarcastically. We redid the battle with both Rush and Titan, the same result each time. At the end of his third battle, Sam held David and Miranda in his hands, shaking his head.

"I wonder why I keep losing. It may have something to do with never ordering an attack"

"Ya think?" I cried. Sam shrugged, and embraced David and Miranda, who looked extremely uncomfortable. They attempted to shock him, but he didn't notice. The sun had finally set completely, so we decided to head inside.

"These are the physical exercises?" Louis asked, "They're the stupidest thing I've ever seen" Michael was flexing each one of Flashs' limbs back and forth.

"I'm helping stimulate the muscles, or something like that, I wasn't paying attention" Michael said. "What ever helps Flash get completely healed"

I remember the next moment perfectly, because you can always remember the moment before a tragedy perfectly. Louis was lighting a joint on the floor, staring at a wall. L3 was on her stomach, face on the ground, and I was unsure she could breathe. Rush was on Lisas' lap, as she sat on the bed writing in her book. Enfer and Virgil were facing the window, where they could see into the woods. They seemed to be waiting for something. Titan was on the bed, but had sunk so deep into the mattress that only his head was exposed.

A loud explosion rang out, and every one looked up.

"What the hell was that?"

* * *

Tagger had his rifle loaded, his machete tied to his waist, and his revolver cocked and ready. One last thing, the rubber Gyarados mask he had worn when he killed the Duncans, he pulled over his head. In case some one survived, though God knows how.

Standing in front of the large wooden house, Tagger could feel them inside. It was time. He unfastened his three pokeballs, and released each of them.

"You" Tagger said, pointing to Skarmory, "Patrol the sky, stop those who try to escape on flying types. You" He pointed to Froslass, "Patrol the woods, freeze those who try to escape. You" He pointed to Garchomp, "Stop any that Froslass can't, use dig and travel under ground. Now go" As they took off, Tagger headed up into the wooden house.

The first thing he saw was a woman, sitting behind a table, staring at a guest registry. She didn't even notice Tagger.

"I'm looking for Angela Duncan" He said, walking over to the table, "Where is she"

"I can't tell you that" The woman said, not looking up, "We're completely booked, you'll have to go somewhere else"

"I'm not asking" Tagger said, aiming the rifle at the top of the womans head, "I want you to tell me"

"Look, I'm not going to" She looked up, saw Taggers' rifle and mask, "OH MY GOD" Tagger fired, blasting most of the womans skull away, and throwing her body onto the ground. He reached for the registry, but stopped.

From where Tagger stood, he could see a stair case. He was being drawn towards it. Tagger walked past the womans bloody body, and as he came to the stair case, a man was coming down. He probably was investigating the noise. Tagger raised the rifle, and hit the man in the gut. Like a deflating balloon, blood mist sprayed out of him, as he hit the ground. He started to scream in pain, and Tagger stomped on his throat to shut him up.

The rooms on the top floor were labeled 11-20, each door having polished numbers on them. A woman peaked out of room eleven, and although Tagger blew her away, she wasn't his target. Twelve, thirteen, and fourteen were not the correct rooms. Fifteen though, he was drawn to it. Touching the door knob, he felt a spark.

"Ready or not" Tagger said, aiming the rifle, "Here I come" He kicked the door in, and went inside.


	39. Turning Point

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XXXIX : Turning Point**

**Angela**

Their is a moment in each persons life, when every thing changes. When a persons safe little bubble pops, and they are forced to face reality for the first time. This moment it the turning point in a persons life, when nothing is the same again. Most people would assume mine was when I killed my self, but they would be wrong. That was the turning point of my first life. I had yet to experience the turning point of my second.

I remembered the moment perfectly, when the gun shot rang out. Some one asked what the hell that was, but Louis (Louis of all people!) knew. He knew instantly.

"Oh fuck!" Louis screamed. We all watched, as he ran to the small wooden nightstand beside the bed, and grabbed it up. The lamp and complimentary ash tray crashed to the floor, as our stoner friend jammed the night stand under the door knob.

"Louis! What the hell are you doing?" Michael cried.

"Gun shot, some one has a gun" Louis ran over to the window, and forced it open. "Come on, every one out"

"I doubt that was" Their was a second shot. "Okay, definitely gun shot, every one out" Moving fast, we went over to the window. It was an eighteen foot drop, but their were shrubs lining the bottom. It would be a painful, but relatively safe exit.

Enfer scooped up Titan in her jaw, since she was the only one who could carry the metal monster. She, Titan, and Virgil were out first. Lisa grabbed Rush, while Louis grabbed L3. A third gun shot rang out, and the two of them went out the window.

"Come on Angel" Michael said in a soothing voice, as he picked me up. "Let's get out of here" Michael had one leg over the window seal, when their was a loud kick on the door. The kick was so strong, the door was thrown off its hinges, and the night stand went flying, eventually smashing against the wall.

Standing in front of us, was a Goliath in a human body. Over his head was a rubber Gyarados mask. In one arm was a rifle, which he had aimed straight at us. He may have been about six and a half feet tall, and his hands were about the size of cantaloupes. I felt hatred, rage seething off of this demonic creature.

"Angela Duncan. How do you know her?" The creature growled.

"What are you talking about?"

"I feel her" It screamed. "She is with you!" The creature raised the rifle, at Michaels' head.

"Oh shit!" Michael pulled me against his chest, and fell out of the window. The man-thing fired, destroying the window and sending wall fragments flying. Michael didn't even pause for a moment, he rolled off of the bushes, and ran into the woods. As he did, the ground behind us exploded, as the killer fired again. It was to late though, we were gone. To find us, he would have to go into the woods.

This would be a long night.

**Enfer**

When I saw him, my heart stopped. I always knew he would find me, and for a while I had felt him coming for me. The moment I saw him again I was no longer the strong majestic Arcanine, Enfer. Instead I was the small, scared woman, Anna. All over again.

_Tyger Tyger, Burning Bright_

I did the only thing I could do, I ran. With Titan in my mouth, and Virgil beside me, we ran deep into the woods. Louis and Lisa were behind us, and God knows how far behind us Angela and Michael were. Angela, my Angela, my little angel. She has no idea.

If I died here, tonight, who would tell her? That she had a mother who loved her, who had been running away from a murder charge, among other things. I wanted to tell her, just not now. I was hoping I could explain the whole story on my death bed, when she wouldn't have the chance to get mad at me.

We ran until our muscles were heavy like cement, until their were holes in our lungs. We then ran some more, until we were so deep into the woods the trees had blocked out the moon. I sat Titan down, as Lisa and Louis joined us shortly, with Michael and Angela bringing up the rear. They stopped to catch their breath.

"Did we –huff- get away?" Michael gasped.

"Yeah, their is no way he could find us"

"Aaaaaaaaauuuuuggghh!" Some one screamed from the woods. Their was a gun shot, and the screaming went silent. Yeah, he couldn't find us, but he could find the other survivors.

"This is my fault" I mumbled, "I brought him here" I turned to Virgil. "He's only one man, he can't stop us"

"Let's take him down" Before they could stop us, Virgil and I were off to kill Jerry Tagger.

**Lisa**

I never have felt safe. I don't know why, aside from one crazy stalker, I've never been in danger. I've been paranoid though, since I was a small child. So I took up weight lifting, self defense classes, and started visiting firing ranges religiously. All the time knowing, it wouldn't be enough.

I was right on the money, all of that self-defense shit wasn't enough. It had nothing to do with my level of training, oh no. I left my freaking gun in the room. Sasha, my beautiful 357. Python, left in my room. What a waste.

The one person who had always made me feel safe was Virgil, my beloved Zangoose. My bitch sister Dana said I shouldn't treat my pokemon as equals, it would give them the wrong idea. I agreed, and started treating them as my superiors. It was only partially to screw with my sister, honest! I feel my pokemon have the hard job, I just stand there giving orders. This treatment I think got them to respect me more. It was what got Dante to fight harder for me, and it was what got Virgil to stay with me, after I released him. I loved him as a brother, he always made me feel safe.

Guess how I felt when he and Enfer ran back through the woods?

"Virgil, what are you doing?!" I yelled. I tried to run after him, but Michael and Louis restrained me. "Let go of my you idiots, Virgil!"

"Shut up" Michael snarled, "What if you alert the crazy man to where we are? Do you want him to put a hole in our skulls?" I relented, and they let go.

"Why though would they run off?" I moaned, "It makes no sense"

"They're pokemon, their motives make sense to them alone" Louis said. I nodded, trying to believe that. All I could think about was Virgil. His head blown open. His blood seeping into the ground.

"We'll figure out something" Michael said, "Right now, I think we" Suddenly, he paused. Michael counted our little group, and then let out a cry. Louis and me put our hands over his mouth, but he pulled them off. "Oh my God, Flash"

"What about him"

"I-I left him in the room, I left him in the freaking room" Michael was now panicking, "I have to go back for him"

"You are staying here, where you can't get hurt" I said, "I'll go get Flash. I can get my gun also, and round up Enfer and Virgil" Michael nodded, calming down.

"O-okay, but you need a pokemon to go with you, just in case" Michael said, "Take um. You should take, uh"

"Kip!" Rush exclaimed, running past Michael and over to me. I looked down at the little Mudkip.

"Are you volunteering, little man?" Rush nodded enthusiastically. He was so cute, and I know that he was in love with me (some people would tell me I couldn't tell, since Rush is a pokemon. Trust me, I know). In battle, I doubt he would have been much value unless we were trying to cute our attacker to death, but I'll take what I can get. "Okay then Rush, let's go"

**Titan**

I watch Rush and Lisa vanish into the night, as we stayed here in the woods. I try to put on a brave face, look strong. Truth is, I am so scared my little metal legs are clanking as I shake. Have to look tough though, have to look tough.

"D-d-do you think they'll be okay?" I asked Angel. She shrugged.

"Maybe, I dunno" She sounds like she doesn't really care, but I know she does. I think. Michael and Louis were both struggling to stay calm, easier said then done when every few minutes you hear someone scream, and then you hear a gunshot.

"Angel, I have to tell you something" I said through clenched teeth. Angel sighed.

"What is it Titan?"

"I'm a virgin" Angela took a moment to process this information, before she fell on her back laughing. Michael and Louis both noticed this, she was Veeing so loud. I kept waiting for her to come up for air, but it was a while before she stopped. Finally Angel sat back up.

"You're a virgin? Super perv, is a virgin? How can this be, is the universe coming to an end?" Suddenly, the grin dropped off her muzzle. "Why the hell would you be telling me this?"

"Well, in case we die today, I"

"Shut up Titan" Angel interrupted. "Just shut up. We're not going to die now"

"But what if we do?"

"I refuse" She said, "I refuse to die. We're not going to die now. Frankly, I don't want you to talk about what might happen if we do. That kind of talk gives me the willies"

"Okay, I wont talk about" Angel nodded, and went back to ignoring me. I doubt she knows how scared I am. You know what my biggest fear is? It's not getting hurt, not even death. I'm afraid of dying, and meaning nothing. I want to mean something to someone before I die, I want to be important. But what if I can't be? Would people remember me, or would I fade away?

"Michael, Lisa, someone help me!" A voice from the woods screamed. All of our heads jerked up at this.

"Michael, was that?"

"Yeah it was Sam" Michael said, "Come one, we have to help" Angel grinned.

"Well Titan, ready to kick some ass?" I took a deep breath to calm my self.

"Yeah, let's go kick some ass"

**Sam**

Be cheerful, always smiling. Laugh and smile when you're hurting, or else you will never stop crying. Never let them see you bleed. This is how I have lived my life. I smiled through my brother and sisters' funeral when I was six. I smiled when I set my self on fire trying to make breakfast. I smiled when I got a letter from home, saying my parents were divorcing.

I wasn't smiling now.

My room was down stairs, and I was out of my room for some reason, when I saw him come in. I didn't understand what was going on, until I watched the man in the Gyarados mask blow that woman away. She slumped to the ground, and I ran back into my room. I grabbed Plusle and Minun, and climbed out the window.

I scattered with every one else from the inn, into the woods, trying to hide. The woods were dark, but far from silent. Every few minutes you would hear a scream, and a gun shot would ring out. The ground of the forest would soon run red with blood.

Plusle and Minun held onto my shoulders as I ran, zigzagging through the trees. Left, right, left left, right left, right right. My foot got caught on a branch, and I fell flat on my face.

Rubbing my aching head, I saw that in front of me was a Froslass. It was just floating there, staring at me. It seemed unsure of what to do, when it let out an inhuman cry.

"Oh God no" Emerging from the woods, was the man in the Gyarados mask. The Froslass belonged to him. I tried to scoot back, but it didn't matter. The man aimed his rifle at me. Suddenly, Plusle and Minun jumped in front of me. Sparks shot off their cheeks, they were ready to protect me.

"Are you willing to die for this lesser man?" The monster asked them. "Alright, you die first" The monster pulled the trigger on his rifle, but all we heard was clicking. "Damn, nothing" Plusle and Minun didn't wait. The two of them jumped at him, crackling with electricity. The monster grabbed both of them in mid-air by the head.

"Let them go" I screamed. I jumped up, but was unable to take one step. To clawed arms popped out of the ground, and grabbed my legs. They were scaled, belonging to some kind of dragon-type. They wrapped their clawed fingers around my knees and squeezed, until my knees shattered.

"Michael, Lisa, someone help me!" I cried in agony, as I hit the ground, my blood seeping into the earth. Why did I call them? I don't know. I'm sure the monster was smiling under his mask at my pain. I watched as he began to squeeze on Plusles' head. "Please don't" I whispered. He squeezed harder. "PLEASE" I screamed. Blood spurted out of the monsters' fingers. Plusles' body went limp, and the monster dropped him the ground. I started to cry.

"I'll kill you next" The monster said, "But first" He grabbed Minun by both hands, and began to squeeze.

"CANINE!" The monster turned, just in time to see a flame-thrower hit him full force.

**Rush**

The house looked alive as we emerged from the woods. Windows were open, and light was pouring out of it. The house also scared me though, because no sound came from it. It looked alive, but that was as far as life went.

As long as I was with Lisa, every thing was okay. I loved her, don't know why, but I loved her. She didn't love me, but that's okay, she would one day. That's why I came with her, to prove I could protect her if she was in danger. To show how big and strong a one foot tall Mudkip truly is!

We decided to go into the front of the house instead of climbing into one of the bottom floor windows. Just in case we stepped on, something…

"Oh my gosh" Ms. Lisa whispered, as she pushed the front door all the way open. The check in lady sat in front of us, behind a big table. Most of her face had been blown away, and we could still hear blood dribbling on the floor. Oh my, she was still holding a pen stiffly in her hand. We both gulped, and moved on.

On the stairs was another corpse, this one a man. The monster had shot him the stomach, and stomped on his throat. His eyes were bulged out of the sockets, and his hands were covering the blood. I let out a weak Kip of pity. Who could do things like this, no one deserved it.

The stairs creaked as we slowly walked up them, me in front of Ms. Lisa. We did not step in any blood mercifully. If we had, neither of us would be able to hold it in I think. We made it to the top of the stairs, to come across our third and final body, this of a woman whose body was partially sticking out of her doorway. She was wearing a unitard, with shiny letters on the back, but I didn't know what they said.

Ms. Lisa ran over to this womans' body as soon as she saw it. She bent down, and touched the dead womans' neck for some reason, like she was looking for something. Ms. Lisa then started to cry. I rushed over, and immediately began pawing at her legs. She looked at me, eyes wrapped in tears, and smiled.

"Hey Rush, I'm okay" She choked as she picked me up. "The reality of death just hit me" Still holding me in her arms, Ms. Lisa stood back up, and we headed to our room.

Our door had been kicked off the hinges, and was laying in splinters on the ground. A large portion of our back wall was blown away. Sitting on the bed was Flash, who was on his back and very much alive. He seemed confused. Ms. Lisa sat me down beside him, while she rummaged through her bag.

"What happened in here?" I asked Flash. He looked at me weakly.

"Big man, Gyarados head. Had big gun, shot at Michael and Angel. They get away?"

"Yeah, they got away"

"He ignored me, I go back to sleep" Flash whispered, as he closed his eyes. Ms. Lisa found what she was looking for, as she pulled out a big gun, and loaded it with bullets.

"Come on Rush, we're going to leave Flash here. I never was going to get him, he's safe here" Ms. Lisa said, "The killer doesn't want any thing here, if he did he wouldn't be hunting us. He wants one of us"

_The question is who_ I thought, as we left.

**Virgil**

My strength is unmatched for a Zangoose, a strength I have from years of training alone, and with Madame Lisa. Once I was beaten with in an inch of my life. From that day on, I swore no one would beat me. I would be stronger then all who had come before me.

I had trained for the day, let's see if I truly am the strongest.

We had followed the screaming, that had been simple enough. When we got there though, what greeted us was truly shocking. A man in what appeared to be a rubber mask, standing over a boy who was bleeding from the knees. A Froslass floated beside him, snickering at the situation. The man held a small pokemon in his hands, and was squeezing it.

"NO!" Enfer snarled. She jumped, flames erupting from her mouth. Her flame-thrower hit this man, this man Tagger full force in the back. Tagger was pitched onto his face, and the Minun was released. Enfer prepared to attack, but suddenly a Garchomp emerged from the ground. It roared at Enfer, who roared back. I wanted to help, but Taggers' damn Froslass kept jumping in front of me.

"Leave them alone, you deal with me" It chuckled.

"Boy are you going to regret that" I said. I had been bred to know Metal claw, a nasty little fact this freak didn't know. My claws glowed gray, and I stabbed it in the sides of the head. It let out a little gasp, and fell on its back. It might have been knocked out, but instead of waiting to see, I jabbed it in the stomach a half a dozen times for fun.

"Hey Titan, if you're finished, help me" Enfer snarled, as she avoided a large rock being thrown at her. I ran, and smashed another rock with my crush claw. I watched the Garchomps' mouth glow, as it fired a hyper beam. I couldn't stop it, as it hit Enfer full force.

"ENFER!"

"I'll be fine" She said, through clenched teeth. Blood seeped down from a large gash on her forehead, but she paid it no attention. Enfer amazed me, no pain, no fear, only determination. "Let's waist the bitch"

I lunged at the Garchomp, swiping fast and hard at its face. As I did, Enfer head butted it in the stomach. The creature screamed, and fell flat on its tail. I raised my claw, preparing to stab it through the throat.

"Virgil" I froze in mid-air, my claw wavering. I turned back, to see her scowling. Enfer knew my story, she knew what would happen if I let rage get the better of me. Sighing, I jumped off of the collapsed dragon.

"Thank you Enfer" I said, "This is why I love you" I didn't see a large metal bird begin to swoop down behind me, but Enfer did.

"Virgil, jump!" Enfer screamed. I leapt out of the way, and Taggers' Skarmory missed me. Instead, it slammed into Enfer full force. Enfer didn't have time to make a flame-thrower, and was tossed into a tree, before slumping to the ground. Her eyes' were closed. The Skarmory took off again.

A large hand clasped around my throat, and Tagger lifted me up so I was facing him. Before I could do any thing, he pulled out a revolver, that he pressed against my temple, before firing and killing me.

**L3**

…..Pot is good.

**Louis**

We came upon the man as he killed Virgil. We saw him fire a gun into Virgils' skull, and then saw him go limp. My legs went weak at this. I care a lot about pokemon, something I don't want people to know. I gave up eating meat after a year working with abandoned pokemon when I was fifteen. Seeing a pokemon die, it always hit me harder then seeing a human die. Pokemon come into the world pure, and leave it pure. They should die with dignity, not having their brains blown out by a mask wearing psycho.

We didn't think he could see us, but the moment we got close, his head jerked in our direction. Like something had drawn him, he knew we were there.

"Angela Duncan" He snarled, "Come out and face me"

"Angela, isn't she the girl you knew?" I asked Michael. He nodded, as we emerged from the woods, across from the mask wearing man. The man kicked two pokemon who were collapsed on the ground. As they sat up, I could see one was a Garchomp, the other a Froslass.

"Deal with them" The man snarled. In his hand was a revolver, we would have to deal with that. The Garchomp vanished under the ground, and both me and Michael faced the Froslass.

"Titan, rock throw" Titan pulled rocks out of the ground, and threw them at the floating ice target. They hit the ghost head on, and sent it flying to the ground. Titan did a little victory pose, when a clawed hand popped out of the ground, and jerked him under. A moment later, a very dinged up Titan was thrown out, knocked out. He landed with a hard thud on the ground.

"Titan!" Michael cried. He took one step, and the Garchomp shot out of the ground. Michael prepared to send Angel out, but I pushed him out of the way.

"Dude, I've got this one" I said. Before he could protest, I sat L3 on the ground, and put a doobie in her mouth.

"Daddy, what's" I lit it up. L3s' eyes went wide.

"L3 attack!"

"Rawr!" My beautiful Slakoth ran full force at the Garchomp. It was so surprised, it didn't have the chance to stop L3 as she slashed its chest rapidly. It slashed at L3 with a dragon claw, and L3 did a back flip out of the way. She jumped on its back, climbed onto its head, and began to punch rapidly. Garchomp screamed and pulled a large rock out of the ground. It tried to smash L3, but L3 jumped out of the way, and Garchomp was knocked out as it smashed its self on the head.

"L3, you won!" I exclaimed, picking her up. She cooed happily, and then began to glow. "What the?"

"Daddy daddy daddy daddy" In the place of my small, cute Slakoth, was a psychotic Vigoroth. It kept thrashing in my arms.

"Hey, L3 evolved" Michael exclaimed.

"How do I unevolve her?" I asked. A loud screech filled the air, and I got to see a large Skarmory swoop down, hitting both me and L3, knocking us out.

**Michael**

Angela Duncan. How did this psycho know who Angela was? Why was he hunting my dead love? None of that mattered right now, not if this lunatic killed me.

I saw a Skarmory hit Louis, I didn't doubt for a second it belonged to the psycho. The metal bird pulled back, and flew off. Now me, Angel, and the monster were all alone. The monster faced me, tossing the revolver back and forth between his hands.

"Angela Duncan, I know she's here" He said in a muffled voice, "I've never known a boy named Angela, and you're all alone" The monster looked down. "Except for…. I never considered a pokemon would want to kill me. Oh well" He raised the revolver, "Any thing is possible"

"No!" I yelled, running and ramming into the monsters' stomach as he fired. The bullet went stray, and hit a tree, as I plowed the man into the ground. The monster growled, and grabbed me by the neck, lifting me off of the ground. I struggled, but it was no use, his grip was iron strong.

"Vee!" Angel exclaimed. She jumped, attempting to bite the man on the arm. Before she could, the monster hit her on the head with the butt of his gun. Angel was thrown into the ground, and the man put his foot on her back, pinning her to the ground. He flipped the gun in his hand, so he was holding it by the barrel. I could hear him snickering from under the mask.

"I could kill you right now, but I'm not going to" He snarled. "I'm going to put you through so much pain, that you'll wish to die. When you beg, then I'll kill you" He then slammed the butt of his gun across my face. Blood spurted out of my mouth, as I felt my mouth burst open. He slammed it the other way, and I felt my nose crack, as more blood exploded.

My eyes were soon swollen to the size of small fruits. My arms were limp from lack of blood flow, as the killer hit me in the stomach and sides with his gun. He hit me right on the knee, and on the chest. Up and down my sides, bruising my ribs. I was so sore and so full of pain, I was sure I was about to pass out. So much pain, so hurt. In spite of this, I could only think of one thing.

_Angela_

He hit me on the forehead, causing a large gash to appear.

_I never realized how much I loved you. I knew I loved you, but I always feared what I thought was love was just a crush_

He smashed my cheek bones, until I was spitting blood. I felt a tooth coming loose in the back of my mouth.

_I don't fear death. Not at all, I actually welcome it. It has nothing to do with escaping pain, just the knowledge I'll be with you soon_

He dropped me on my side, and began stomping me. He had to take his foot off of Angel to do it, but she was so weak she couldn't move.

_I love you Angela_

He kicked me in the side of the head.

_I love you_

"Hey slappy!" This part of the story would be called deus ex machina, God from the machine. A miracle that comes at the last minute, to explain an unexplainable situation, or save a near death character. My God from the machine came in the from of a small water sack, and a blonde woman who was in the middle of a prolonged nervous brake down. The man turned, and snarled.

"Who the fuck are you?" I could see the moon light reflect off of the gun in Lisas' hand. She raised it, and fired. The man jerked, as a bullet pierced him the chest. Lisa fired again, the man yelling in pain as a second bullet hit him. He was able to get his gun flipped, and fired one shot.

Lisa screamed, as the shot hit her in the abdomen. Rush, upon seeing this, ran at the man. He jumped, but the man grabbed Rush and flung him. Rush hit a large tree with a loud crack, before flopping onto the ground.

"That wont stop me" Lisa snarled, as she fired a third, and a fourth time. Blood was seeping out of holes in his chest, and he was to weak to hold the gun. I watched, as he pulled out two pokeballs, and consumed his two knocked out pokemon. He then whistled.

"No you don't!" Lisa fired, and hit him again. The mans' Skarmory landed, and the man collapsed on it. Lisa fired one last time, but missed as the man flew off. Lisa gave off a few heavy panting breathes, and collapsed unconscious. I screamed in frustration.

"Vee" Angel cried weakly. I watched her stand up, and shakily, walked over to me. I smiled, as she licked me across the face.

"Hey Angel" I whispered, "The man, he called you Angela Duncan. Why did he do that?" Suddenly, every thing clicked in my mind. I thought of the book I had bought in Slateport. It said a person could come back as a pokemon, if a legendary wanted them to come back. Suicides were not excluded. Re-born pokemon were not normal, and normal pokemon could tell what they were. Angel never acted like a normal Eevee. "Oh my God, Angel?"

"That would be me" She said in perfect English.

**Angela**

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God" Michael kept chanting over and over again.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God" He continued.

"Can I get you any thing?"

"Oh my God"

"Yeah yeah, I know" I said, "We'll deal with this later. I'm going to check on our associates" I went over to Titan first. He was badly beaten, but breathing fine. Lisa was bleeding from a hole in her abdomen, I was worried about her. Louis and L3 were fine, just knocked out. Enfer was also out cold. Virgil, I'd really rather not say. Sam was lying on his side, holding Miranda. He was bleeding from his kneecaps. I went over to Rush, who was unconscious at the base of a tree.

"Come on Rush, wake up" I said, shaking him by the top of the head. "You idiot, you could sleep through a war, wake up" Nothing. "Heh heh, come on Rush" I shook faster. "Rush, wake up" Nothing. I felt tears coming, "Rush, come one. Wake up, wake up, wake the fuck up you bastard, wake up" I screamed.

"Angel, what's the matter?" Michael called weakly.

"Rush is dead"


	40. The Morning After

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XL : The Morning After**

I don't remember much after that. I guess someone managed to make it back to the house and call for medical assistance, because the next thing I remember are helicopter blades. Whirring above us, spraying leaves and twigs every where. I was on Michaels' chest I think, his hands were clenching my fur. I passed out.

Every thing was spotty for awhile. I remember a hall way, with bright lights strung above us, burning into my skull. The sounds of wheels turning, they must have been sticky because they clicked as they turned. People stood around us, all of them dressed in white for some reason. One of them had headphones on, and I could hear Rocket Man drifting out of them.

My head was heavy, made of lead. My mouth was a dry abyss, from which no moisture could escape. My ribs were crushed, and I probably had that lunatics foot print imprinted on my back. My legs were to weak to support my weight, so I left them sprawled on Michaels' chest, let him deal with them. The only part of my that didn't hurt was my tail, useless appendage.

None of it mattered though, because of what was burned into my mind. Rush, his body, battered blue body. Lying against a tree, insides smashed to pieces, bleeding broken body. Bleeding broken Mudkip, my Mudkip, my friend. I couldn't live with out his annoying presence, we were a team. Angela, the fucking Eevee Girl and her sidekick, Annoying Boy!

Annoying Boy was no more though, the monster had seen to that. He killed Rush, he killed Virgil, he killed who knows how many in that forest. Who was alive? What about Lisa, was she alive? She had been shot pretty bad, what if she was dead? Did she know about Virgil? About Rush? How would I go on now, with Rush dead? I would go on eventually, but the thought of him not being there, it brought tears to my eyes (they burned like acid). Finally, what about the monster? He was shot five times, their was no way he could have lived, right?

Suddenly, I felt cold and sweaty fingers wrap around my chest. The Rocket Man guy was holding me. I try to dig my claws into Michaels' shirt, but I'm to weak to move. Try to protest, but all I can muster is one weak Vee. Luckily, I didn't have to protest, someone else was doing it for me.

"What the hell are you doing?" Michael snarled, jerking up.

"We are taking your Eevee sir, so she and you can be examined"

"She stays with me you bastard"

"Look sir" The Rocket Man said, obviously irritated, "It will be better if you just"

"She stays with me!" Michael yelled, grabbing me out of his hands. He lay back down, stroking my, fur. "Don't worry Angel, I wont let them hurt you. No one else will hurt you, I promise"

"Thanks Michael" I mumbled as I passed out.

* * *

Tagger couldn't understand. He wasn't just hurt, he was dying, actually about to die! The five gun shot wounds were still bleeding, his Skarmorys' feathers were slick with blood. It was all Tagger could do to hold on, and even that was a major chore. The cold air whipped against his bare face, since he had dropped his rubber mask some where around Mauville.

They couldn't go to Mauville, even though it was the closest hospital. Oh no, those few survivors would be there, including that dumb blonde bitch who shot him. If he showed up, gushing blood and riddled with bullet holes, they might put two and two together. Tagger could not risk going to prison now, not when Angela Duncan was still alive. The solution was to go to Verdanturf Town, the next closest hospital. Tagger had to hope that his mighty body was strong enough to fend off death.

Death was a cold bitch, who was trying to take Tagger. He was resisting though, oh yeah he was resisting. He was going to heal, then he would come back for them. He would track them down, and personally cut the throat of each of them. They thought they had gotten away? Hah! You don't get to attack and try to kill Jerry Tagger, and then get away. It was personal for him now.

Seeing the lights of Verdanturf Town, Tagger was able to pick out the hospital (the only building with a giant H). He signaled down, and his Skarmory began to descend.

"Faster you stupid bird, faster" Tagger said through clenched teeth. Blood dribbled out of his mouth, the metallic taste burning his tongue. Tagger was so tired, sleep would be so good now. If he just closed his eyes for a minute…

"Then I'll never wake up" He screamed. Finally, Tagger could see they were about to land. The moment Skarmorys' talons touched the ground, Tagger slid off the metallic birds back. He collapsed on the ground, face down. Slowly, he clenched and unclenched his fingers, then pushed himself back up.

"Listen to me you stupid shit" Tagger spat to Skarmory, "Wait by here, I will signal when I need you, do you understand?" The bird nodded, then took off. Tagger some how got on two feet and walked (stumbled) to the hospital entrance. He placed a bloody hand on the glass door, which slid open as he did.

"Help me" Tagger rasped, as he stumbled into the emergency room. No body even looked up. "HELP ME" He screamed, before collapsing on the ground.

* * *

I must have slept for a year. My body sprawled out, heavy as cement, totally at peace. No bones were broken, but I would be weak for awhile, God knows how long it would be till I battled again. When I finally woke up, sunlight was streaming through a window. We were in a white room, a hospital room. I could see Louis in the corner of the room, sitting in a chair, passed out. L3 and Flash on his lap, Enfer and Titan by his feet. The fur on Enfers' face was streaked, where tears had fallen down.

"Hey little girl" Michael whispered. I looked up, to see him smiling at me. "How are you doing?"

"You don't want to know" I rasped. He stroked my ear, and I let out a soft Vee. I could stay in this moment, for all of eternity. Except, I knew I couldn't, I had to ask the big question. "So, do you want to know?"

"Know what?

"How it happen" Michael shook his head.

"I know when you want to tell me, you'll tell me Angela" I laughed.

"Yeah, well the time is now. Buckle up, it's a long ride"

* * *

"I still can't believe she dyed you pink" Michael laughed, "That stupid idiot"

"I still can't believe you gave me to that moron for a contest" I said, "You are just as much at fault as she is" We both laughed at this, and it was a minute before we calmed down. We were avoiding talking about Lisa, Rush, Virgil, any thing else that happened in those woods. "So, how bad a shape are you in?"

"Not that bad" Michael replied, "That maniac knew what he was doing. He hurt me, but didn't brake any bones"

"Why would he do that?"

"Simple. Inflict as much pain as humanly possible, but since he didn't break any bones, he couldn't accidentally kill me" Michael had a nervous grin on his face. "Words can't describe how lucky I am" Now tears were appearing, but he blinked them back, "They also can't describe how evil that bastard is. H-he killed Rush and Virgil, and he shot Lisa"

"I know, but he's dead now" I said, repeating it in my head like a mantra, "He can't come after me"

"Why did he want you? Do you know?"

"Yeah, of course I know! This is the face of some one who knows!" I cried, sarcasm dripping off my tongue. "Uh, sorry. I've had a very long day"

"We all have" Michael said in a soothing voice.

"Yeah, I know. Any information on Lisa yet, or what?" Michael shook his head.

"No, they came in last night and told us she was in recovery from surgery. The bullet clipped part of her spin, and the doctor thinks she'll loose mobility in one of her legs. The doctors will come and get us after she is awake and they've informed her on every thing"

"So she doesn't know that Virgil is dead?" Michael shook his head.

"God, I don't want to be there when they tell her" His voice sounded empty, "Virgil and Rush are dead. I still can't figure out how it happened. How can a human being kill for no reason, kill who knows how may people and pokemon?"

"It's simple" I growled, "He's not a man, he's an it. A living blasphemy, and with any luck, he's currently burning in hell"

"Michael, are you talking to your Eevee?" Louis asked, as he woke up. We looked at him, and both grinned.

"Of course I'm not Louis" Michael said, as I shut my mouth, "How are you today?"

"I feel like I was hit like a truck" He laughed, "Man I must have tied one over yesterday"

"Tied one over? You were almost killed!"

"Really?" We nodded, "I don't remember that" Louis giggled, "Are you sure I didn't just get really wasted?"

"Would you be in the hospital if all you did was get wasted?" Louis thought about this.

"I dunno, what was I doing while I was drunk, because one time I tried to fly with wings made of cardboard. Then their was the time I tried to drive my ice cream truck into a swimming pool (he actually succeeded at this one), then their was" Suddenly, Lous' eyes went big, "Oh shit, big man. Gyarados face, big gun! He has a gun! Gotta get away!" Louis attempted to jump from his chair, ended up tossing Flash and L3, tripping over Enfer, and smacking his skull on the ground.

"Remember now?" Michael asked sarcastically.

"It doesn't make sense, why would he be looking for your dead girlfriend?" Louis asked. We had agreed, we shouldn't tell Louis about me, not yet anyways. "How did he even know?" Flash and Titan were now on the bed with us, while Louis held L3.

"I dunno" Michael said, "He's dead and in hell, so who cares?" I nodded in agreement. From where I was, I could see Enfer was awake, but she was staring into space. She seemed to have no idea of what was going on.

"Enfer! Hey Enfer!" I called. Nothing. I wiggled out of Michaels' arms, jumped on the ground, and walked over to her. "Enfer, hello!"

"Oh, hi" She said, her voice stone cold dead. Her eyes weren't blinking, and she wasn't moving at all. I head butted her. Nothing.

I was about to continue pestering her, when a doctor came in and said, "You may see Ms. Jeffries now"

* * *

Complete loss of mobility in her left leg. From the thigh down, completely dead. Lisa would have to lean on a cane for the rest of her life. Her favorite pokemon, killed by a psychopath. Virgils' body lay rotting in a box, at the pokemon center next to the hospital. She had had a really bad day.

We were lead down the hallway to her room in silence, none of us sure what to say. I thought to my self, _She can't be that bad_, as we entered her room. Michael was in front, so he spoke first.

"Hey Lisa"

"Go to hell" Okay, she can be. Lisa was propped up on her bed, looking like shit. Her hair was tossed every where, make-up smudged by tears, her white gloves were missing. Her left leg was on top of the bed covers, stiff as a board. Her eyes were red and puffy.

"How are you doing?" Louis asked.

"How the fuck do you think?" She spat. "I lost a leg, my best friend, and the worlds most adorable Mudkip in one night. I know Rush was your Mudkip, but it still hurt"

"Trust me" Michael said, "We understand, we just want"

"I don't care what you want!" Lisa screamed. Slowly, she calmed down, breathing heavily. "You have to go, all of you. You have to go right now"

"But we just came to"

"GO" Giving in, Michael gestured for us to leave. Slowly, we all filtered out, except Louis. Louis stood in the door way, staring at the sobbing woman. She looked back up, to see him still there. "I told you, I want you out!"

"I'm not leaving, I'm going to be here for you"

"I don't want you here" Lisa snarled.

"You don't get it" Louis said, shutting the door. "You are going to cry, and I'm going to be here while you do" He walked over, and put his arm around her shoulders, as she sobbed.

* * *

"Do you think Lisa will be okay?" I asked Michael.

"I dunno, she has to work through what ever this is her self" He replied, "No one can do it but her" Titan and Flash weren't commenting on the fact me and Michael were talking to each other, I doubt they cared. We entered the room, to see Enfer still there, she had never left. I ran over, and hopped on the bed, followed by Flash (who was able to walk shot distances). It was now raining outside.

"What are we going to do now?" Michael sat down on the bed beside us.

"We go on in a few days, if Lisa wants to continue, she comes with us. If not, we go on with out"

"Excuse me, Mr. Luccelli" An orderly was standing in the doorway, "I need to speak with you"

"Okay, coming" Michael stood up, and went over to the orderly. As he talked to the orderly, Michaels' face become distressed. The orderly left, and Michael came back.

"What happened?" I asked.

"They uh, said I could go pick-up Rushes body" Michael stammered. "I have to go"

"Alright, I love you" I called, but Michael was out the door. Flash was asleep, Titan was asleep, Enfer was comatose. Rush was dead, in a box. I broke down sobbing.

"Oh God Rush, how did it happen?" I moaned, "Why did you have to die?"

"He might now have to die" A sinister voice said. The rain had frozen in mid-air, and something was wrapped around me. It was like a giant snake, smooth scales.

"What do you want not Milotic?" I growled. The giant evil snake smiled.

"I want to bring Rush back, and I can" She said, "I was able to make you human again, so the life of one Mudkip would be extremely easy. I will require something in return?" I sighed.

"What?" Laughing.

"I want Michaels' memories" Not Milotic, "He will forget that he discovered who you are, and you will go back to just being an Eevee. I said I would do any thing to make sure you and Michael didn't end up together"

"I can't agree to that" I stammered. Not Milotic laughed again.

"Sure you will" She said in a smug voice. "The chance to bring that cute, sweet Mudkip back?" I blinked, tears running down my eyes. "What do you say?"

"Yes" I said, "I agree"

"Good, because it's already done" I blinked, and she was gone. Every thing felt different, I felt so empty. Sighing, I returned to the window.

"What are you looking at Angel?" Rush asked, walking over beside me. Michael had left the room for some reason. I was his pokemon Angel, his faithful Angel, no longer the girl he loved.

"Nothing" I said. I then started to cry. I know what you're thinking, if Michael doesn't know who I am any more, what life changing event happened to me? For me, what was significant about the night before?

"Angel" Enfer said, walking over to me.

"Yeah, what is it?" I growled.

"When Virgil died yesterday, I lost something" She gulped, "On top of that, I realized, I was, no I am going to die soon. I have to tell you something"

"What is it Enfer?" Enfer laughed nervously.

"Angela, I'm your mother"


	41. Funeral For A Friend

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XLI : Funeral For A Friend, Good-Bye Virgil**

My head started to spin, and had I been on anything except four legs, I would have collapsed on the ground. I felt like a bag of cement had been dropped on my body and was crushing me. It took me a moment to speak and even then it felt like I had cotton balls in my mouth.

"W-what?" Enfer was breathing heavily.

"I know that I'm going to pant die soon"

"Not that!" I cried, "The next part about you being my mother!"

"I feel hot" Enfer whispered, "Haven't felt hot in so long" Enfer collapsed on her side, tongue lulling out of her mouth. I jumped out as she hit the ground.

"Enfer?! Enfer, what happened?!" My paws felt something coat them, and I looked down. Blood, pooling around my feet, coming from between Enfers' feet. "Oh fuck oh fuck" I jumped away from the blood. "OH SHIT"

"Hey guys, that was awful" Michael whispered coming into the room. He flopped down on the bed, stroking Rush, and looked over the edge to see me. "Oh my God, Angel?" Michael jumped over, and grabbed me. Upon seeing I was okay, he turned and saw Enfer. "Oh my God"

* * *

There is a reason they build pokemon centers next to hospitals. In case people are brought into the emergency room with hurt pokemon, their pokemon can be taken next door and treated fast. That being said, it is still not easy to move an almost four hundred pound Arcanine. On top of that, it's even harder to move who has started bleeding for absolutely no reason.

They ended up wheeling Enfer on a stretcher, on her side, to the pokemon center. She was completely unconscious, moaning in pain or misery. I think I heard her call out for Virgil, but I'm not sure.

Louis was almost hysterical, crying like infant.

"Will she be alright" He screamed. An orderly walked by, and Louis grabbed him, "Tell me damn it, tell me!"

"I-I just work here! Don't kill me!" Okay, I'm sorry. What I meant was he was hysterical, and it was driving me crazy. One clean shadow ball to the head, that's all I needed to do.

"Louis, you have to calm down" Michael said, as we pushed the borrowed stretcher (awful nice of them to lend us one). Lisa was with us, limping. Why she was coming, I honestly don't know. She had a completely dead look on her face, and was still wearing a hospital gown. Her left leg wasn't moving at all, and Michael was partially supporting her.

We got to the pokemon center, and the people there decided the best way to help Enfer was to cut her open and feel around inside. I watched them take away the giant orange dog, trying to figure out what I felt. Why did Enfer say she was my mother? Why was I so numb to the fact that she was currently laying on her side, with her stomach cut open?

"I don't understand" Louis mumbled, as we stood in the pokemon center lobby, "How could Enfer? I just don't understand"

"Ms. Lisa Jeffries" We all turned, to see a nurse.

"Yes, that's me, why?"

"The hospital informed us you were on your way here, I'm just surprised you got here so fast" The nurse said, "But I can take you to see him any time you want"

"See who?"

"Your Zangoose, we have his body prepared" The nurse said, "You may see him now"

"I uh I" Lisa collapsed.

* * *

We got her back to the hospital immediately. Louis and L3 then went back to wait for Enfer. We stayed with Lisa, as she tossed and turned. She mumbled things in her sleep, but we couldn't hear them. At last, an orderly came an said Louis had called and said Enfer was out of surgery, and she (the orderly) would inform Lisa what happened to us when we left. Only me, Michael, and Flash left, Rush stayed behind with Lisa, and Titan went to sleep.

"They said Enfer miscarried" Louis said. These were the first words out of his mouth as we entered the recovery room. Enfer was still on her side, unconscious. Their were stitches on the lower portion of her body. Michael sat me down on the floor with Flash.

"Enfer was pregnant?" Both me and Michael asked.

"They said she was only a couple weeks along" Louis said, "But still. She was pregnant, and getting hit by that Skarmory in the woods she lost it. I can't figure out how Enfer got pregnant"

"Oh God, I know" I said to myself. "Oh God how I know" Flash turned to me.

"How does this make you feel Angel?" I sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, having your mother cut open and almost die, and having her loose whatever sibling you would have had" My eyes went wide.

"How did you know?" He smiled.

"Titan and Rush didn't hear Enfer tell you, but I did. Angel for the most part, I observe the rest of the world with out being a part of it. I do this because I want to understand why thing happen the way they do, and if someone is in pain, I can help them" Flash said gently, "Are you in pain?"

"No" I mumbled, shaking my head. "I don't understand why Enfer told me she was my mother, when she was obviously lying! I mean, it just can't be true! I had a mother who despised me, and if Enfer willingly let that bitch have me, that makes her even worse!" I was hysterical by now, and Flash was smirking at this. "Do you mind if I break down sobbing, but you don't ask me why?"

"Of course" He said. I thanked him, and began to cry uncontrollably until we had to leave.

* * *

Louis had told us that the pokemon center had a little plot of land behind it to bury dead pokemon, and he had bought a plot for Virgil since we weren't going to carry his body every where with us. Lisa slept all day do to the drugs they gave her, so all of us (minus Rush) went to Michaels' room for the rest of the day. The next morning, I remember the sun was shinning, the sky was cloudless, and on this beautiful day we got to bury a Zangoose with a bullet in his head.

"I'm going to see how Lisa is doing" Michael whispered to us, as he got off the bed that we all lay on, "Back in a second"

"I don't understand" Titan said as Michael left, "Why are we burying Virgil? That isn't what he would have wanted"

"How do you know that?" Flash asked curiously, "Did he ever tell you?"

"No, but he was a warrior in life, and you didn't know him well. He would have hated all of this pomp and shit, he would have wanted his body to lye on the battle field. Virgil would have really wanted to take as many of those monsters with him as possible, but he didn't get that lucky did he?" I heard a note of sorrow in Titans' voice, and smirked at this.

"Am I hearing emotion from you Titan?" I asked, trying not to giggle, "Are you sad? About someone other then you?"

"N-no" Titan stammered.

"Yes you are! Come on, loop me in tin one" Titan sighed.

"It's just, I had a lot of respect for Virgil, you know what I mean? He was every thing I wasn't, strong, fast, able to split skulls. I looked up to him, and I figured their was no way he would get killed in that forest! Especially be a human with a gun! How embarrassed do you think he is?"

"Considering he's dead" I said, "I'm going to guess not very" Titan scowled (As best one can without a mouth) at this comment.

"Don't joke about this. Our friend is dead, a lunatic killed him, and he's never coming back" Yeah, especially considering that I could have made Not Milotic bring him back, and I forgot to do it. I doubt she would have done it though, that would have made me happy.

_Didn't Rush coming back make you happy?_

I ignored these thoughts, trying to shake them out of my head. Yes, bringing Rush back made me happy, I think. At this point in time I wasn't sure, so I'll just not think about it.

"Do you think their was any thing we could have done to save him?" Titan asked, "Or stop the monster?" I thought about the nightmare man, seeing him kill the drunken Duncans, seeing him stalk me in my dreams.

"I think Lisa putting five bullets in him stopped him" I said.

"Their was nothing you could have done" Flash said, "You can't prevent what you can't predict. Nobody could have predicted this"

"I'm just saying, they didn't need to help me get dressed" We heard Lisa and Michael from the hall.

"Lisa, you're left leg is completely numb, you limped to the pokemon center yesterday with me supporting you, because you refused to wait for a wheelchair. Having a nurse help you get dressed is the last of you problems" Michael said, pushing Lisa into the room on a wheelchair. Rush was on her lap, rubbing against her stomach. She had one of her books in her hands. Michael looked tired, and genuinely unhappy. "Come on guys, let's get this over with"

* * *

Pokemon cemeteries are hideous things, I mean absolutely hideous. The one behind the Mauville pokemon center was no exception. The cemetery was a large dirt square, with a small black metal fence running around it. The fence had a gate, and the gate door was hanging by one hinge. Their was no grass in this cemetery, only mud with a few weeds sticking out. The graves were terrible, crooked tin markers with names etched on them, popping out of the ground every so often. If you didn't notice the tings, you would probably walk right over them, and never notice. Also, the ground was like a swamp, extremely damp with little bugs buzzing around. I hated the place the moment we walked in.

Yet, as much as I hated it, it was perfect for Virgil. Virgil was disturbingly down to earth, he wouldn't have wanted his death to be any thing special. Titan was right about him probably wanting his body to stay in the woods, laying at the scene of his greatest battle. Well, we were putting him in a hole in the ground in a really shitty cemetery, so that would be the next best thing.

I was appalled by how they had treated Virgils' body, as we walked through the small cemetery. Virgils' coffin was lying in front of a polished tin marker, with two shovels beside it. Why had they not dug a hole?!

"Well, I'm glad you asked that" Louis said to Michael, "I figured we could save some money if we dug the grave ourselves" Michael let out a scream of frustration, and Lisa laughed at this.

"You moron, the grave digging is a free service!" Now me and Flash were both laughing. I know we were at a funeral, but I couldn't help it.

"Louis is a moron, isn't he?" Flash asked.

"Flash, you're going to get along well here" I said. Michael picked up his shovel, and swung at Louis for being such an idiot. Louis though had bent over to grab his shovel, so Michael hit air.

Enfer was with us, but she wasn't moving. They had given her pills, and she was drugged out of her mind. I think she was giggling.

"LookwhatIfound" L3 cried. Since L3 evolved, she had to be in constant movement, and had become a hyperactive pain in the ass. In her white arms were about six or seven grave markers. Oh my God, the stupid pig-monkey is a moron. In that case, she is Louises ideal pokemon. "CanIkeepthemcanIkeepthecanI keepthem?"

"You stole their grave makers!" I cried, "We're among the dead, show some fucking respect"

"AlrightIputthemback" L3 screamed. She back flipped away, still holding the markers. Michael and Louis began to shovel dirt, or mud as the case maybe.

Now, digging a grave is even harder then it sounds. For one thing, you have to make sure that it's so deep, the coffin can't get washed out in case of a flood. I know that sounds ludicrous, but Hoenn was flooded once by some morons dressed like blue pirates. Another thing is, you have to make sure the grave is long and wide enough to fit the coffin. Since we were putting a four foot tall Zangoose in, that wouldn't be much of a problem. Still though, it took about four hours before we had a large, square hole dug. Louis and Michael walked over to the coffin, but Lisa gestured to them to stop.

"I have to say something to Virgil, before you" She gulped, "You know" Louis assisted her in wheeling through the mud, over to the small white coffin. She looked so sad, and I noticed even Rush wasn't smiling at this. Lisa, swallowed, and began.

"Virgil, I want to say thank you" She whispered, her voice cracking, "You were the best pokemon I ever had. You were always there, always loyal for me, when no one else was. When I ran away from the pokemon league, you followed me. No matter what happened to me, I had you. Thank you for the loyalty Virgil, I loved you for it" Tears rolled silently down her face, but she continued any ways, "I think that our last days together were happy" Lisa smiled softly, "No, I don't think it. I know you were. Good-bye Virgil" She turned over her shoulder to us, "Could someone help me with something?"

"What?"

"I need to place something in the coffin" Lisa said. Louis walked around to her, and Lisa handed him the book she was carrying. "It's Combios Dawn, it was his favorite book I wrote. He would want it"

"How do you know it was his favorite?" She shrugged.

"A trainer always knows" Lisa said. Louis cracked the coffin lid, and slid the book inside, not wanting to see inside. Then he and Michael began to lower the small coffin into the ground, hard to do when you only have your friends. Titan was crying, Flash looked sad, and even I was torn up at this. Why? It wasn't my fault, right?

"I'll tell you every thing" I gave a small jump, and turned to see Enfer standing behind me. "I lost Virgil yesterday, I lost my unborn child today. I can't risk me or you dying with out you knowing. I told you I was your mother, and that is the truth Angela. Tomorrow, ask me any question, I'll tell you what you want to know"

"Thank you" I whispered. Their was not another sound among us, except the sound of dirt hitting the coffin, and the silence of the dead.


	42. Mother and Daughter

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XLII : Mother and Daughter**

The funeral ended up lasting too long. I know that too long isn't an actual amount of time, but the funeral lasted just that long. I hate funerals' and I always have hated them. The funeral I hated most of course was my own, but it was kind of creepy seeing my body being lowered into the ground. Also, I was to busy thinking about Enfer, agreeing to finally tell me the truth.

Enfer seemed to be under the impression that I was taking this well, which I most definitely was not. One thing I had learned was how to be a good actress, after years with the drunken Duncans. I had acted like the good daughter, we had acted like the good family, but it was all fake.

_How could you abandon me, you fucking bitch?_ That was the question that rattled through my brain. How could she willingly leave me with that pair of monsters? How could she not tell me she was human when we met? How could she let me use this fucking language (Okay, I wasn't thinking of the last one, but still)?

I thought the funeral would never end (sorry Virgil), and we finally headed back to the hospital. This would be our last day here, Lisa was undergoing some final tests, and they would be teaching her how to walk with a cane (relatively easy if you learn fast. If you don't, learning is a hard son of a bitch). They would be paying two grand for it, two grand for what was essentially a twisted piece of wood.

"I want you guys to know, I'm going to come with you" Lisa said, "I can't be alone right now, I need to be with friends"

"What ever you need" Michael said.

"Can one of you stay in my room with me?"

"I'll do it" Louis said, "Me, Enfer, and L3 would be glad to sleep with you" All the tact of an atomic bomb Louis. I was silent as this little exchange went on. Flash walked over beside me.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked. I let out a weak, empty laugh.

"No, I'm not okay" I whispered, "I'm having a really hard time right now" Flash smiled at me.

"I can't imagine how it feels, having your world crash down around you. Finding out who you thought was your mother, actually wasn't? Terrible. Remember though, she loves you. She must have had a reason to not tell you until now" I laughed again.

"Yeah right. There is no reason to do what she did, abandoning me?"

"How do you know you didn't end up with your parents until Enfer was dead?" I actually didn't know that. It didn't change how I felt though, I still was full of rage. For something she did sixteen years ago! "How do you know Enfer hasn't thought about you every moment of every day?"

"She hasn't" I growled, "Why would she? What's so special about me?" Flash tried to protest this, but I didn't respond. We walked to the hospital in stony silence, my mind filled with rage.

* * *

We just kind of drifted around aimlessly that day, nobody saying a thing. Rush never left Lisas' arms, trying to comfort her in his own stupid way. Titan stared at a wall, not doing a thing. Flash slept, giving off electric flashes every few minutes. I waited for night, and for Enfer.

Finally night came, not fast enough in my opinion. Louis, L3, and Enfer went off to Lisas' room, while me, Titan, and Flash stayed with Michael. Michael stroked my fur, staring at the ceiling. He was mumbling, and I could hear him.

"I never want to see another cemetery again. Death always follows you, and I don't need another nightmare about Angelas' death" Michael sighed, and flipped the lights off. He passes out almost immediately, and had the dream of my suicide again. I didn't have the time to deal with my growing guilt, I climb off of Michaels' chest. He began to stir, but Flash combed on, and Michael calmed down.

"I'll make sure he doesn't wake up" Flash said, "You go on"

"Thanks Flash" Why was he helping me? He didn't know me. Shrugging this off, I hopped off the bed, and walked over to the door. That's where I ran into my first problem, the freaking door! One of the biggest problems of being a small, brown puff ball was I could no longer reach the knob (seeing as I no longer had thumbs, I guess it didn't matter).

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Enfer thumped back down on all fours.

"How did you?

"I've had a lot of experience with doors" Enfer said, "Due to Louis getting locked in closets, bathrooms, refrigerators"

"I would love to hear that story" I said.

"Later, follow me now" She kicked the door shut, and we took off down the lit hallway. We avoided only one orderly, until we came to a metal door that lead to the outside. Enfer pulled herself up, and twisted the knob with her teeth.

Cold air rushed over me, as we walked outside. This part of Hoenn wasn't very warm, due to it being near the desert. The night music that night was a concerto of whipping wind and pokemon calls. Enfer stopped against the back of the building, and I plopped down beside her.

"What would you like to know?" Enfer whispered, "Most of it will be pretty shocking, let me warn you now"

"I honestly doubt you could shock me any more"

"I killed my husband" Enfer said. The words as they came out of her mouth, were dead and rehearsed. She sounded like she had dreamed of saying these words for awhile, and they no longer had any meaning. Evidently, she could shock me, because me jaw was hanging open. "I stabbed him in the stomach with a kitchen knife, because he smashed a figurine I bought"

"You bought it with the money your husband gave you for an allowance" I said, to Enfers' surprise. "You bought it because you love Growlithe, and you wanted to be happy, even if it was only for a moment" Enfer laughed.

"Boy do we have a lot to talk about"

* * *

It took an eighteen hour surgery, and several blood transfusions to save Taggers' life. Even then they were unsure how long he would last, due to how bad of shape his body was in. Immediately after surgery, he was put in the recovery room. As with all gun shot wound patients, the police were going to have to question him. Since Tagger was unconscious, he had to be handcuffed to his bed. Which was exactly how he awoke to find himself.

Tagger remembered being shot by that blonde bitch. He had shown her though, Tagger had killed her with a gut shot. Then he had escaped, their was no way Tagger was going to be taken in by the pathetic police and be thrown back in prison. Tagger had almost been scared, as Skarmory flew him to the hospital. For a moment, he thought he was going to die, he had never come so close to death. Tagger had escaped death again though, and soon he would hunt those bastards down again.

Light burned through his eyes, into his brain. Tagger could see only white, and a series of lights above his head. He was in a bed, a hospital room. He needed to get out immediately, or else they might try to stop him. Tagger set up, and his right arm got jerked down. Their was a handcuff around his wrist.

"They think this will stop me?" Tagger growled. He grabbed the cuff with his left hand, and broke it off his wrist. No one was going to stop him. Tagger dropped out of the bed, and hit the ground on his belly. It took him a moment to stand up again, and even then his legs were weak. "Can't think about that, got to get out" Tagger slowly dragged him self to the doorway, as an orderly entered.

"What the? How the hell did you get out of bed" Tagger grabbed the orderly, and lifted him up. Tagger then brought the orderly down on his knee, breaking his back and killing him. Dropping the orderlies' corpse to the ground, Tagger limped into the hallway, but could only make it a few steps. He ended up collapsing against the wall, breathing heavily.

"How can this be happening to me?" Tagger wheezed, "How can I be this weak?"

"I pity you Tagger" An icy voice said. The hallway was empty, and the voice seemed to be coming from everywhere.

"Who said that?" Tagger growled. No response. "Answer me, damn it!" Tagger screamed. Now laughter had filled the halls, booming and cruel.

"I know your pain Tagger" The air in front of him began to shimmer, as a creature appeared in front of him. It was a large Milotic, and it was grinning. "I'm here to help you"

"Who are you?" Tagger growled.

"Why, I'm your new best friend"

* * *

"Not Meowth?" Enfer laughed, "You get visited by a magic, omnipotent creature that takes the form of a Meowth, and the best name you can make for it is Not Meowth!"

"I admit it, I'm not the most creative girl in the world" I said "But not Meowth has done some good for me. As he said, if Michael figures out who I am, then he'll be able to understand me" I chose not to tell her about Not Milotic, way to complicated. "We've gone off topic though, back to you killing you husband" Enfer nodded.

"I married my husband when I was nineteen" Enfer said, "Because I thought I was in love. After a few months, he hit me. It became a roller costar ride from there. When things were good, they were really good. If they were bad though, they were really bad. All to frequently, they were really bad. So, when I was 24, I began having an affair. I had fallen in love I thought, with another man, a man named Jerry Tagger.

"Tagger wouldn't hurt me I thought, but what I didn't know was he was even worse then my husband. He was more dominating, more controlling, and more arrogant. Tagger was a control freak, every aspect of his life and the lives of those close to him he had to control. Tagger believed he wasn't human, and was a superman who could do what ever he wanted. Including kill"

"Did he kill any one?" I asked, wondering what this had to do with me. Enfers' mind was racing.

David, Virgil, Sharon

"I don't know if he did" Enfer said, "But it wouldn't surprise me if he did. Tagger was a monster, with any luck he's now burning in hell. I digress, let's get back on topic. Tagger and I began our affair, and it lasted for three years. During the last year of our affair" She let out a weak laugh, "I got pregnant"

"W-wait, you got pregnant?"

"My husband didn't want kids, and he made sure we would never have any. So before you ask, yes your father was Jerry Tagger" Enfer swallowed and continued, "I was nine months pregnant, ready to deliver any day now, and I could no longer take what my husband put me through. When he smashed my figurine, I stabbed him"

"How did I end up with the drunken Duncans?"

"I'm getting to that" Enfer paused, before continuing, "I gave birth a day later, and Tagger showed up. I had ended my affair, largely because of how scared I was of him. I made sure to end it before he found out I was pregnant, but that didn't stop him from finding me in the hospital. When Tagger found out I had you, he wanted you. What exactly Tagger wanted, I don't know, but I needed to keep you from him. Their was only one problem"

"You had killed your husband" Enfer nodded. Tears were in her eyes.

"I knew they would never let me keep you" She whispered, "So I tried to hide you. I had a friend in Littleroot Town, Alister Duncan. At the time, he wasn't a drunk but Sylvia was. I assumed he was going to help her"

"It ended up being the other way around" I said.

"I know they both wanted a child, and they couldn't have one. I knew that Tagger wouldn't be able to find you" Enfer said. "The, the hardest thing I've ever had t do was give you to the drunken Duncans" Tears were rolling down her face now, "I only did it though because of how much I loved you. I swear, if I know what they were going to do, I wouldn't have let them have you" As Enfer cried, I moved over and nuzzled against her. She looked up, and I smiled.

"I don't blame you Enfer (Can't call her mom yet). I understand what you did actually. I want to know, how did you end up this way?" Enfer smiled.

"As you know, I died (by being stabbed in the throat) but I don't want to say how. When I died, I expected to be taken to God. Instead, I ended up in limbo I think. The entire place was empty, and I was floating in the nothingness. It was beyond a shadow of a doubt the strangest experience in my life. Mew was floating in front of me suddenly, laughing and giggling. I had never believed in Mew, but it was real. It was giddily happy to see me"

"I remember the fucking pink cat thing" I said. Enfer paused.

"How is it that you ended up with that kind of language? Who taught you that?" Now I laughed.

"The uh, drunken Duncans. I watched home videos of us one time, and they recorded my first word. To encourage me to speak, the had been saying ; Say da-da little fucker. Say ma-ma little fuck. Well, my first word ended up being fuck!" Enfer gave a barking laugh.

"Those idiots! What was I thinking?"

"I dunno, you were the one who picked them" I giggled. We laughed until tears rolled down our muzzles, and Enfer finally regained her composure.

"Well uh, let's get back on topic. Mew said it would give me the chance to come back to earth as a pokemon, and if I excepted, I would get to see you again" Now she sounded happy, "I didn't have any second thoughts, the answer was yes. I agreed, and in an instant I felt my self being pulled back to earth. I don't remember much after that"

"Except you were warm, floating in some kind of goo" Enfer smiled contently.

"It was so warm. I never wanted to leave, but I knew I had to. I kept pushing against the wall, and then it suddenly broke! I was being licked clean by an Arcanine, my new mother. I was only with her for a few days, before I was adopted by a boy"

"Louis?"

"The rest was history" Enfer said. "When Louis left his dad, and moved from Lillycove to Oldale, I was the only thing that came with him. I thought Mew had lied about meeting you again, until that night. When I saw you, it didn't matter that you were an Eevee" Enfer looked me straight in the eye, "I don't care that you committed suicide. I want you to know, I loved you from the moment you were born. No matter what form you're in, I'll always love you" The sun was rising, and it bathed half her face in light. "Do you believe me?"

"I-I dunno" I said, "This has been a long night" Enfer nodded.

"Come on, let's go inside" Enfer did the knob trick again, and the door swung open. As we walked through the much more full hallway (strangely, no one noticed us), I began to digest all I had been told.

"Enfer" I called.

"Yes?"

"I know how strong you are" I said, "I want to know, can you train me? I ate being a brown puff ball, so can you make me strong?" Enfer looked back at me, smiling.

"Yeah, I can make you the strongest Eevee there is (I believe a strong Eevee is an oxymoron)" I thanked her, and we continued in silence. Last night, every thing had changed again. Now I had a mother who loved me, and I thought she had told me every thing.

I was wrong though. Enfer still had several secrets, that would come back to haunt us. That's a story though, for another day.


	43. Reunion

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XLIII : Reunion**

"Marmela" I cried, "Don't you recognize me?"

"Marmela, use surf" A wall of water appeared behind the Seadra, and slammed into me. I was to upset to notice though. This wasn't the Marmela I had known, how could I be so concerned?

I bet you're wondering how I got here, my dear listener. Well, it's a good, albeit strange, story.

* * *

When we got back to Lisas' room, where Enfer would be spending the night, we found Louis sitting outside of it. He was asleep, and their was a large scabbed gash on the side of his head.

"Louis tried to get in bed with Lisa" Enfer said, "So Lisa responded by throwing a bed pan and L3 at his head. Lisa said me and L3 could stay in the room, Louis would sit outside the door" Enfer smiled to her self, "Come on, let's get you back to your room" We quickly made our way back to my door, and she did the knob trick. I started to head inside, but paused for a moment.

"Enfer, thank you" I said, before going inside, Enfer closing the door behind me. I was a little over whelmed by the night before, but I would be okay I thought. Right now I needed sleep more then any thing, so I jumped back on the bed. Flash looked up from his place on Michaels' chest as I landed. "Thank you for taking my place"

"No problem" He whispered, climbing off. As I climbed back on, I looked back at him. He was giving off another bright discharge.

"Flash?"

"Yeah"

"Why did you help me?" He paused for a moment, like he didn't hear me.

"I understand abandonment" Flash said simply, "And I know to be glad for any parent you have" He wouldn't say anything else.

"I hate this piece of shit" Lisa said, as we exited the hospital. Even I had to admit the polished piece of black wood was hideous. Lisa's numb leg was slightly curled. She had to lean on the cane when she moved that leg. Their was no feeling bellow the thigh, none at all. She looked on the verge of tears, but didn't say any thing for ten minutes. Then, with out warning "I have to talk about something, now"

"Wha?" Louis asked, unlit doobie in the mouth.

"I need to know about you guys" The cement under our feet turned into dirt, we had finally left the city. "I barely knew Virgil"

"Virgil was a pokemon" Michael said, "You can't know a pokemon that well"

"I should have" Now she was freaking out, "Do you guys have any siblings? I have a sister"

"A sister, really?" Rush did a back flip, "Two of her! The world can't be that good!" Boy his head is up his ass. I could ignore this though, since I was almost asleep in Michaels' arms. Every time I began to drift off, thoughts of what Enfer had told me came back. Damn her, why did she have to tell me she was my, my uh, you know.

"What's your sister liked?" Louis asked, through gritted teeth. L3 held one end of his joint, and he held the other end. They were playing tug of war.

"She's, well she's a paranoid schizophrenic" Lisa said, "Uh, in a mental hospital, unable to speak to any one, always babbling" She smiled as she said this. "What about you Louis?"

"Gimmiethat!" Louis screamed, jumping on L3 to take back his joint. The two rolled around on the ground, wrestling. We walked on with out them.

"All right, Michael how about you? Any siblings?" Michael shrugged.

"I had a brother" He said, "Who uh, died at birth. I really don't want to talk about it" What a pleasant group we were.

"Michael, we need to talk" A very pissed Louis said, running back to us. He held L3 by the scruff of her neck. We all looked at the two nimrods. "I need help with L3"

"What do you need?" Louis paused.

"Let me ask you, what do you need to have fun?"

"Batteries?" Lisa asked.

"No, pot! Pot makes everything in the world better, pot is the greatest thing in the world" Louis said, "And you can't enjoy pot if you have a psychotic pig monkey attacking you every time you spark a doobie. No, you want to be able to savor your high, watch you joint burn slowly, maybe take LSD after it"

"Is he telling us the correct way to get high?" Titan asked.

"This is what Louis is good at" Enfer said, "Some people compose epic pieces of music. Some create fantastic works of art. Louis creates legendary highs" I could see it now, Louis ; Da Vince of marijuana.

"Do you get what I'm saying?" Louis asked.

"I tried to block it out, but every so often some of it got in" Michael said, "What do you want me to do about it?"

"I want you to un-evolve L3" Of course, something simple. Like breaking the laws of nature.

"I can't un-evolve L3" Michael said, "No one can. You could battle her until she evolved again though" Michael slowly smiled, as an evil idea entered his head.

"What is her evolved form? Is it small and cute?" Slaking is a fucking giant of a pokemon, and an ugly bastard on top of that. At this point in time though, Michael had put up with a legendary amount of crap from Louis. He had been tricked into going to strip clubs four times, tricked into getting high twice, taken into court once, forced to turn away six prostitutes, set on fire three times, and forced to let Lisa come with us on our journey. Louis had abused him to no end, and he was allowed to lie, he had earned it.

"Of course dude" Michael said, "Slaking is one of the smallest and cutest pokemon there is. It's lazy as sin too" Well, the last part was true. Louis smiled, and held up L3 in front of his face.

"You know that was a lie" Lisa said.

"Do you care?"

"Well no, not really"

"We're going to make you small! Yes we are!" Louis cooed.

"Gimmiemypotyoubastard!" L3 screamed. She was sobbing as she cried this. I shook my head at the sight of this.

"You need help" I mumbled.

"Alright, how do I battle someone?" Louis asked.

"Dude, we meet tons of trainers out here, when we see some, ask them to battle" Louis shook his head fast.

"Can't do that dude, I need someone to battle with me. They do double battles in Hoenn, I know they do. I want you to battle with me"

"First you would have to find two trainers who wanted to battle" I said, snuggling into Michaels' arms, "Since most trainers don't like double battles, I doubt you'll find two" As I said this, two trainers walked over the hill in front of us, both of them itching to battle. This is why I do not work in the stock market.

"A double battle?" The male trainer of the two asked. He looked at the female trainer.

"I'm good with that" She said, "Let's go" Years have passed since then, so I can no longer remember the trainers names. I'll call them Loser 1 (male) and Loser 2.

As they were getting ready to battle, I was completely passed out in Michaels' arms. I was so tired from being up all night, all I wanted was sleep right now. Do you think I was going to get it?

"Angel, I'm going to use you" Michael said, setting me on the ground. No, of course not. He set me on the ground, and it took me a moment to stand up. The whole world was spinning, all I wanted was to be asleep in Michaels' arms. Was that so difficult?

"We'" L3 chanted, jumping up and down. If I had hands, I would have smacked her. Louser1 and 2 pulled out a pair of pokeballs. Now, they had given their pokemon different names then the ones I'm going to call them. I can't call them by these new names though, I just can't do it.

"Alexi!"

"Marmela!" A Marowak and Seadra appeared in front of us, both of them looking pissed off. Their appearance snapped me awake, because I knew them, from another world.

As you know, several weeks before this, in a moment of less then brilliance, I made a deal with Not Milotic. She made me human again, in a world where I had never killed my self. In this world, Alexia and Marmela were my pokemon, my Marowak and Horsea. I had often wondered what happened to them when I returned, and now I could quit wondering.

"Alexi! Marmela!" I cried happily, running away from Michael, and over to them. "I-I'm so happy to see you!" They looked at each other.

"Do we know you?" Alexi asked.

"Of course you do!" I exclaimed happily, "It's me, Angela!" They gave me strange looks, "Y-your trainer?" Marmela, sweet little Marmela, blasted me point blank with a water gun. I was thrown back over to Michael, landing on my side. Water dripped off my fur and onto the dry ground. I picked my self up, and looked at them, confused. "D-don't you know me?"

"Of course not" They said, "We know what you are, competition"

"We'll let you go first" Loser 2 said.

"Thank you" Michael replied, "Angel use hidden power" I felt the balls of energy for around me, and in a move that defies logic, I de-summoned them. I shook my head, refusing to attack. "Uh, Angel? What are you doing?"

"L3" Louis slurred, "Show them how strong you are! Use, uh, flame-thrower?" L3 jumped up and down, since she couldn't attack and had just realized, her trainer is an idiot. Eh, she would have to catch on some time.

"Alexi, bone rush" Alexi began tossing smaller versions of her bone club (where do these things come from?" L3 dodged the first two, but the third and forth hit her in the head. Marmela was ordered a water gun, and fired at me. I jumped left, right, any where to avoid being hit.

"Come on Marmela, I'm your friend!" I cried, "Don't attack me"

"I don't know you" Marmela said while firing. "Quit talking like we do. You are my enemy!" Marmela in alternate world was the sweetest, nicest Horsea you could ever meet. Yeah, she was a tad stupid, but she was so cute, who cares? Michael ordered a shadow ball, and I fired one, straight into the ground. It propelled me over and behind Marmela, who flipped around to face me.

"I'm not going to fight you" I said through gritted teeth, "We are friends. I was your trainer"

"If you were my trainer, why on earth are you an Eevee?" I opened my mouth to reply, but realized I couldn't. Marmela used this as a chance to use twister. The swirling dragon energy lifted me off of the ground, smacking me all over, but I didn't brake.

"L3, use what ever the pointy sea horse used!" Louis cried. L3 screamed in frustration, as Alexi used bonemerang. The bone clubbed L3 on the left side of the head, spun in an arc, and clubbed her on the right side as well.

"Angela, for the love of God use quick attack!" I charged at Marmela, then moved out of the way before making contact. Michael smacked himself. "It's alright Angel, we'll get him" Some times I think Michael deserves a medal for dealing with me.

"I can't attack you" I cried, "And I wont. Marmela, I promised you I would never hurt you, you have to know that"

"We have never met" Marmela screamed, "Stop acting like you know me" Marmela used smoke screen, and smoke appeared on the field, choking me. I felt Marmela use head butt, knocking me flat on my ass. I needed out of the smoke, I couldn't breathe. Using quick attack, I escaped before I passed out.

"Why isn't Angel doing any thing?" Titan asked.

"I don't know" Flash replied, "She acts like she knows the two of them"

"I'm so happy!" Rush cooed from Lisas' lap. Enfer was completely silent, as she watched the disaster that was my battle. I continued to hack, as Marmela was ordered to use blizzard. Now, blizzard is a weird ass attack. It's a giant flurry of snow, it can cover every thing on the field, but quit often, it misses, like right now. I just don't get it.

"L3 use" L3 was in really bad shape, barley standing up.

"Louis, just tell her to use return!" Lisa screamed. Louis shrugged.

"Uh, use return?" L3s' body snapped up, and she charged at Alexi. Faster then you can say oh fuck, L3 was on top of Alexi, punching, biting, clawing, and attacking. When she finished, Alexi was in bad shape.

"Alexi, she's weak, use bone rush again"

"Louis, use counter!" L3 began to glow red, and the bones that hit her caused no damage. Instead, they hit Alexi in the face, cracking her skull cover, and throwing her on her ass. Alexi was knocked out. L3 did a victory dance, before coming over to assist me. I ignored her though, instead focusing on Marmela. Marmela by now was very pissed off.

"Look, you said you promised not to attack me?" Marmela asked. "Well, I give you permission! I'm board out of my mind here, you need to do something, so attack me"

"No!" Marmela screamed in frustration, and used water gun on L3. Louis used counter, not knowing mirror coat was what he should have used (supposing L3 knew that) and the water gun knocked out the pig monkey.

"L3! No fair, you cheated!" Louis yelled, scooping up L3, "I used counter!"

"Louis" Lisa said, "Counter only works on physical moves"

"…Damn it" Marmela used twister again, and I was thrown around in the air, dragon energy beating the snot out of me. I landed shakily on my feet, blood beginning to drip from my little nostril. I wouldn't last much longer.

"Angel" Michael said in the calmest voice he could muster. "I know you don't want to attack. I know your tired, I know you don't want to attack. Please do this for me Angel" I froze as he said this. _Alright Angel, who do you care more about, Michael or Marmela?_ "Now use shadow ball" A ball of dark energy formed in my mouth, and I fired it at Marmela. It hit the Seadra in the face, knocking her on the ground.

_I think you just answered your own question. _Marmela got back up some how (amazing considering she has no arms or legs) and I used quick attack, hitting her in the chest. As I pulled back from her, I noticed a small quill in my leg. Marmela smirked at me (as best she can with no lips).

"I'm poisoned, aren't I?" I asked.

"Yes, you are" I nodded at this, as the world began to spin. Pretty colors, so many pretty colors. I passed out.

* * *

When I finally woke up again, I heard Michael saying something about an antidote working. I was able to open my eyes, but not much else. I was limp in his arms. Loser 1 was comforting Alexi, while Loser 2 was with Marmela.

"You did a great job" Loser 2 said, "I've never been so proud"

"She has a trainer who loves her" I said, "Huh" Michael kissed me on the tip of my muzzle.

"You did a great job Angel, thank you" I barely heard his words. Marmela and Alexi had good trainers, that was all that mattered. I smiled at this thought, and finally fell asleep.


	44. Sharon

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXIV : Sharon**

Tagger had been having a bad week. Shot repeatedly and left to die, he had barley made it to the hospital. Then, when he woke up they tried to have him arrested! So he had had to escape, but had ended up collapsing in a hallway after braking only one back. Now Tagger was weak, he was in pain, and he wondered if he would survive. How did he end up this way? Now, their was a floating Milotic, talking to him, mocking him.

"I can't be going crazy" He whispered, "I'm the only truly sane human being!" The Milotic laughed at this.

"You aren't going crazy Tagger, I've come to offer you a deal" The thing almost seemed smiling. "I want to heal you Tagger, make you even stronger then you were before. I'll have to re-grow that lung you lost, but that'll be no trouble" Tagger was panting heavily, unable to see straight.

"What do you want in return?"

"It's not what I want Tagger" Not Milotic said, "It's what we want. We both want to kill a little Eevee by the name of Angela Duncan" Taggers' blood ran cold.

"Continue"

"Felicia Hardy" Louis said, imagine what she could do with those claws"

"Good choice" Lisa said.

"Now you're turn. If you could nail any super hero, who would it be?" Michael buried his head in his hands. Louis and Lisa had been talking about any ridiculous subject, mostly to avoid talking about the absence in our group.

"Wonder Woman and The Flash" Lisa said. Rush was on her shoulder, standing up and asleep. "Wonder Woman, because that would be one name to cross off my list. The Flash because the man is a jack hammer"

"When did my life become one meaningless conversation after another?" I asked. Titan shrugged, as best he could.

"I dunno, why is it I haven't evolved yet?"

"You're not strong enough, trained enough, or experienced enough" I said. When Titans face dropped, I attempted to smile. Don't worry, I don't hate you"

"Thanks Angel" Flash walked over beside me.

"Have you considered being nice to your teammates?" He asked, "I mean, you do have to battle with these pokemon" My body battles with them, my mind dances on Pluto.

"I'll try" I grumbled.

"Do you mean it?"

"No, but if I pretend I do, will you shut the fuck up?" I said. Flash closed his mouth, and dropped back. Truth be told, I wasn't having a good day. I was trying to be nice, but I was sick of walking for eight straight days. Having seen Marmela and Alexi days earlier had fucked with me a little. All I had thought about since then was getting over Mt. Chimney and getting to Lavaridge Town.

Lavaridge Town was blocked by cliffs and a giant freaking mountain. The only way to get to Lavaridge Town, aside from flying on a Pokemon, is to climb over Mt. Chimney. Now I know what you're thinking, why don't they just dig a tunnel through the cliffs? Because that would be the smart thing to do! Let's face it, we Hoennites (their word, not mine) are not the smartest, but the stubbornness of people.

It was another two hours of walking, when the mountain just seemed to appear. Like a majestic stone tower, it rose out of the ground beautifully. To get over it, their was a cable car we could ride. To get to the cable car, it was a brisk walk one mile up. Please kill me. Enfer paused when we first caught site of the mountain.

"Mt. Chimney is beautiful" Enfer said, "I visited here when I was a little girl, right before my mother died. She was so happy that day" I turned back at her, and she smiled at me, "It's actually kind of nice I get to visit with my daughter"

"Even though you're now an Arcanine, and your daughter is an Eevee?" I asked. Enfer shrugged.

"I don't care, it's still special to me" I nodded.

"I guess you're right Enfer"

"What would it take to get you to call me Mom?" I twitched when she said it.

"I don't know Enfer" I said, turning from her. I couldn't see the sorrow on her face, but I knew it was there. It would be awhile before I could even consider calling Enfer, well, you know.

I have to tell you this my dear listener, it had been raining for the last six days. Today had been the first day it had stopped, and all of the lakes and ponds in Hoenn were over flowing. There is a small lake at the base of Mt. Chimney, and most of the year it's almost dried up. However, since it had been an unusually rainy year, and the small lake had flooded.

The only way up the mile of mountain was a set of stairs, stairs that would erode at the bottom when their was flooding or heavy rain. Which is exactly what happened when we arrived.

"Why does the first stair start above my head?" Michael asked.

"Because God is cruel" I mumbled. The stairs had been eroded into an extremely steep hill. It was only 20 feet up, but we would be walking at almost a 90 degree angle. We had a woman with a cane, and Louis. You just know God was laughing at us.

"Wha did I miss?" Rush mumbled, as he opened his eyes slowly. Water every where, made him feel happy. He looked down, to see Ms. Lisa and every one else were standing in water at the base of a hill. Finally, off to the left, he could something swimming in the water. "Kip!"

"What is it Rush?" Lisa asked lazily. We all turned to see a Trapinch swimming in the water. My mind began racing at the thought of the Trapinch. Trapinch are a weak ground type, but they evolve into Flygon, who a strong dragon-type. On top of that, this Trapinch wasn't being hurt by the water. I-if it weren't weak against water, it might not be weak against ice, which means…

"We would have an unbeatable Flygon" I whispered.

"I need to catch that" Michael said, "It's not being hurt by water, I need to catch it" Louis and Lisa looked at him.

"That Trapinch is obviously retarded" Lisa said, "Why would you want it? It may not be hurt by water, but if it's retarded it might not know any attacks"

"I don't care" Michael said, plucking Rush off Lisas' shoulder. Rush clawed desperately at the air while being moved, "I know I have to capture it. Come on Rush"

"We'll sit this one out" Lisa said, "You capturing something is like an Abbot and Costello routine"

"Look after Flash, Titan, and Angel" Michael said, before running into the lake. Lisa and Louis sat down, Enfer, Flash, L3, and Titan sitting with them. I was restless, so I walked over to the edge of the water. I just noticed my reflection for the first time in weeks. I had never noticed, but their was a white spot on my forehead. My eyes were big and brown, seemed sad. Was I unhappy?

"Hi there!" A chirpy, female voice said, emerging from the water. The Trapinch, head sticking out of the water and nothing else. It's skull had a nasty, dark crack on it. I didn't know Trapinch could swim, but evidently this one could!

"Oh my gosh, what do I do?" I asked, "Why are you in the water?"

"Because" The Trapinch said, smiling, "I belong in the water. Where else would a water pokemon go?" Water pokemon? Oh boy.

"Uh, what do you think you are?" I asked, scared of the answer.

"Gyarados" She said, obliviously. Suddenly, her head snapped in another direction. "Oh look! Shiny!" She took off faster then any ground-type could possibly move.

"Oh come on!" I cried. I looked back at Lisa and the rest of them. They were to focused on Michael to notice me, except Enfer, who couldn't go in the water. She smiled at me, as if saying go for it. Sighing, I ran along the shallow part of the lake, following the Trapinch.

"Where did shiny go?" The Trapinch asked.

"Never mind you moron" I said, "I need you to come out of the water, so my trainer can capture you"

"I see the shiny!" Trapinch said, "I, oh look a Beautifly!" I didn't see one, but I did strongly suspect this Trapinch was psychotic. The damn thing then took off like she had a motor on her ass, and I continued running along the shallow water.

"There is no Beautifly!" I cried, "You are not a Gyarados!" The Trapinch stopped, and turned to me, swimming over and emerging from the water.

"Yes I am, I am a Gyarados!"

"No you're not you stupid fuck!" Did I have a homing beacon that attracted the crazy pokemon?

"Yes I am, rawr!" Trapinch jumped (how the hell did it do that?) bit me on the air, and threw me into the water on my back. I so did not deserve this shit. As I squirmed to get up, the Trapinch pinned me to the ground with it's little leg. "I challenge you to a battle, Gyarados vs. Pelliper!"

"Pelliper?" I cried, "Have you lost your fucking mind?" Stupid question.

"If you win, I'll go with you" Trapinch blathered on, "And if you loose, then I go with you!" My God, she's a fucking moron. "Do you agree to my terms, little Slugma?"

"You have no idea what I am, do you?" I asked, "Sure, I agree" The Trapinch lifted her leg up, and I was able to flip up on my legs. "Alright, we fight until one of us is knocked on our back, agree?"

"Who are you?" I sighed, and fired a shadow ball straight at the Trapinch. As I did, she burrowed into the soft, watery ground. Great, the only Gyarados in the world that knows dig. The stupidity of my own statement just hit me.

I backed up nervously, scanning the ground in the shallow water as I did. Ground-type pokemon are slow above ground, but they can shoot out of the ground like a champagne cork. I took one more step down, as something large and hard exploded from the ground, hitting me under the jaw.

I flipped like a coin, thrown through the air, landing on my stomach. As I woozily got back up, I could see the damn Trapinch had vanished for a second time. What did I do to bring this upon me? I wasn't able to move this time, because she shot out of the ground again, hitting me in the stomach. I was thrown into the air, back towards the ground. I twisted my neck and fired a shadow ball before I hit the ground.

The force of the ball flipped me back up. I took a moment to catch my breath and plan my attack. I scanned the area, looking for my opponent, to see her looking at rocks.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I cried.

"Getting shiny shells!" Trapinch replied stupidly.

"Those are rocks you moron! We were in the middle of a battle!" I bent my head down, and charged at her, tackling her in the side of the head. Bad idea. I have no idea what Trapinch are made of, but it is harder then a diamond. I screamed as pain shot through my small skull. The Trapinch looked up, as if noticing me for the first time.

"Hi! Can I help you?" I simply stared at the little ground/ant thing. Blood was dripping from a cut in my forehead, but I didn't care. This fucking moron had put me through a living hell of a battle, and she didn't remember me? She beat the snot out of me by only using one attack, and she didn't remember me? That's it, I'm pissed.

The little white energy orbs of hidden power shot out of my body, two catching the Trapinch and knocking her on her side. The Trapinch got up slowly, confused.

"That wasn't nice!" I used quick attack to hit her in the side. I probably did more damage to my self then her, but it felt good. The Trapinch now looked mad. "No fun, what did I do to you?" She threw mud at me, using mud slap. Another quick attack, and I dodged all of the mud.

"Fuck nice" I growled, tackling the Trapinch. She dropped to the ground, and I ended up stumbling over her and landing flat on my ass. Trapinch put one leg on my back, pinning me to the ground. Before I could retaliate, she bit my tail. Using dig, she pulled me under the wet ground.

Ground-type are fortified pokemon, then can go far under ground without being hurt. An Eevee is a weak ass pokemon, who is lucky if they can go one inch under ground. I was being pulled through wet dirt, hard dirt, and rocks, far underground with little air. Every gasping breath I sucked in mud and small pebbles, almost no air. My fur was choked with dirt, pulling on it as I was pulled down. My eyes were burning, and my ears hurt due to how far back they were pulled.

_I need out_ I thought, _I need…_ It was going dark, and I was certain I was gone. Suddenly, the Trapinch changed direction, and emerged from the ground, me in tow. I took several deep, gasping breaths, the air never tasting sweeter. The Trapinch smiled at me.

"Maybe that will teach you not to attack people for no reason" I fired a shadow ball, hitting her in the face. "Maybe not" She sighed, "Then I'll just have to" A red light suddenly consumed Trapinch, as Michael captured her. Her ball shook twice, then clicked. I looked up at him, painting.

"Where the hell were you?" I grumbled. Michael sat down beside me, Rush running over with him. He picked me up, and stroked my fur, removing dirt clumps.

"Sorry about that Angel, when I saw you fighting I came over immediately. Thank you for tiring her out, are you okay?"

"I wonder how much damage shadow ball would do to your head?" I mumbled. Rush jumped up with us.

"Yay! New friend, will I like them?" I turned to him.

"Believe me, you'll love her. I hate her, so you'll definitely love her" I grumbled. Michael released the Trapinch back out. She slowly looked around, very confused at what had just happened.

"Who are you, where am I? Where was I?" She looked up at me, "Friend!" Now the psycho remembers. Michael gently touched the cracks on her skull, careful not to hurt her.

"I'm going to name you Sharon" Michael said, "It'll be a nice remembrance" Yeah, we'll always remember the woman in the unitard, and that long night. Sharon chirped happily, as Michael stood up again. He sat me and Rush back on the ground, and we went and rejoined the others.


	45. Days With Robin

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XLV : Day's with Robin**

Mt. Chimney sucks. Anyone who wants to disagree with me can get in line to kiss my ass. I hate the stupid climb up the mountain, the fact that it's always raining ashes, and the long climb down. We go into three battles while there, losing the first, but wining the next two. This should have made me feel good, but it didn't. When we began our first battle, the ashes had coated me a lighter brown. By the time we finished our third, I was a vibrant gray. No one else was though.

"I think it makes you look cute" Rush said.

"Fuck you" I grumbled, shaking ash off. L3 was shaking so badly that ash wouldn't stick. Enfer was able to avoid it some how. Flash just zapped it as it landed. The others didn't have fur, so they didn't have to worry. What about me though? What the fuck do I do? Well, I figured if I complained long enough and hard enough, every one else would be as miserable as me. This would accomplish zilch, but it would make me feel better.

"I can fly! I can fly!" Sharon chirped joyfully, running and jumping in front of us. Yeah, Sharon had been a member of our little group for five days. In that time, she had forgotten who we were six times, become convinced she was a human, then a Gyarados again, and tried to fly off three cliffs. One more day of this, and I would personally kill her.

"Why are you so depressed?" Rush asked, "The sun is shining, Lisa exists, it's a great day to be alive!" Usually, I would let Rush live in his little Lisa land. I was covered in soot though, so I decided to tear the little mudfish.

"Just stop" I growled, turning to Rush, "Just stop with this Lisa bullshit" Rush's face twitched.

"E-excuse me?"

"Lisa does not know you exist" I said, "To her you are just a Mudkip, nothing more. She does not love you, she will never love you. You are deluding your self into thinking she loves you. Rush, you two will never be together" Hindsight tells me I was being a bitch, but at the time I thought I was justified due to the amount of hyperactive bullshit I had had to put up with. I should have known something was wrong when Rush's smile vanished.

"She doesn't know" Rush said in a dead voice.

"No idea" Rush sat down and stopped moving. We almost left him behind, except Lisa nearly tripped over him.

"Rush, is any thing okay?" Rush was just staring blankly. Sighing, Lisa reached down, one hand on her cane, and picked up the little Mudkip. She kissed him on his head, and he began to smile. He then stuck out his tongue at me, the fucker.

"Why are you so depressed?" I looked behind me, to see Enfer.

"Not you too, I'm not depressed Enfer" I grumbled. "Have you ever considered that I'm not depressed?"

"Have you considered you might be in denial?" I shrugged and Enfer smiled. "I'm ready to talk when you're ready to admit your hurting" I wanted to tell her to fuck off, but decided not to bother.

"How difficult is the gym in Lavaridge?" I heard Titan ask Flash.

"Why would you think I would know?"

"You said you've seen most things in Hoenn, and you've been around for awhile" Titan said, "And I'm a little scared of asking Angela"

"They use fire, beyond that I know nothing"

"What's that?" Sharon giggled, running around us in circles. "Where is food? I need food now!" I fired a shadow ball at Sharon. Sharon opened her mouth, and consumed the ball.

"Yougotfood,wherefoodforme?" L3 cried. Two days with Sharon, Rush, and L3. Any one would want to kill them self by now. Suddenly, I felt a pair of soot covered hands pick me up.

"You're a little tense Angel" Michael said. Evidently I wasn't the only one coated in ash. Lisa looked like she was in a perfume commercial, Louis hadn't bathed in months so the ash made him look better. Michael was completely gray from head to toe, and you could barely tell he was human. I smiled at him as he gently attempted to wipe soot from my eyes. "We've got another gym in Lavaridge, wont that be fun?" Their was heavy sarcasm on his voice.

I viewed the Lavaridge town this way. You walked for a week then climbed over a mountain to have someone set you on fire. Ugh, this will hurt wont it? "I'd rather do just about any other gym, but we're here, so we might as well" Yeah, if we didn't, I would hurt you. "At least for once we didn't get here on a Sunday, so we can battle today"

* * *

"Gym closed for 48 hours due to lack of interest on the part of the Gym leader!" Michael sighed as he read the sign. "Today is Friday, that means the gym wont be open till Monday" As I've often said, the universe runs on a system of irony. Just when you think every thing is going your way, life hits you in the sprouts with a sledge hammer. "She closed the gym, because she wasn't interested in battling?"

"Gym leaders are allowed to do that" Lisa said, "Once you enter the building, the leader if God. They can do what you want" To be honest, I was a little relieved. Enfer moved behind me.

"You said you wanted training? I'll help you get out tonight, be awake at midnight" I nodded, slightly scared of the thought. Michael screamed in frustration.

"Relax dude" Louis said, "I know something we can do"

"Lou, if you say get stoned, I promise I will kill you" Louis stuck his tongue out, "What are you suggesting?"

"Go to the hot springs dude!"

"Because it's so relaxing on your muscles?" Lisa asked.

"Uh, no" Louis laughed, "Because when you stare at the bubbles while on LSD, it's so fucking awesome" Michael swung at Louis, but L3 grabbed Michaels' hand. She then started to suck on it. How did I end up like this?

* * *

Michael eventually gave in, and we ended up at the hot springs. The hot springs could have both pokemon and people in them. Enfer particularly loved this, considering this was the only type of water her body could stand. Rush and Titan were the opposite, water-type for the most part like cold water. Titan was so badly hurt by water of any kind, it made him throw up. Flash was not allowed in due to conduction. Sharon was so stupid and delusional water wouldn't hurt her. Louis and L3 were both face down in the water, and Lisa was sunbathing (with Rush on her stomach). Michael tried to coax me in, but I was resisting.

"Come on Angela" Michael said, trying to pull me in by my legs. "It'll be okay"

"I'd rather not" I said, digging my back claws in. Michael tried to pull me, and I knew I was loosing my grip.

"Angela wont come in?"

"I wish she would Robin" Michael said. We both paused, and turned to see Robin standing behind us. She was smiling, and was wearing a tank top for some reason. She was cradling a Vulpix. Unfortunately, when Michael turned to look at the red demon, I fell head first in the water. Emerging, I shook my self off and spit out a bunch of water.

"I see you're a little surprised to see me" Robin said, looking down at me. "Hi Angel"

"Die Robin" I said sweetly. She stroked my wet fur. Michael used most of his strength to smile, and even then it looked forced.

"Robin, what are you doing here?" Robin slunk down into the water, keeping the Vulpix's head above the water. She stroked its head, and the Vulpix nipped at her. "Whose this?"

"This is Wisp" Robin said, "I decided to try a new naming system with her" She sighed, "I came here and lost a battle two days ago. Won it yesterday, but Flannery didn't want to give me a badge"

"She didn't want to?"

"Nope" Robin said, "So I'm stuck here till Monday" As she blathered on, I made eye contact with Wisp.

"So how did you end up here? With Robin?"

"I got caught by her when I froze up in battle" Wisp said, "Not my proudest moment"

"Why did you freeze up" She shrugged it off. "Uh, okay. Do you enjoy battling, if you freeze?"

"I don't freeze" Wisp growled, "A one time thing. I will train and be stronger, and never freeze up"

"Did you ever meet a Zangoose named Virgil?" I asked. Wisp gave me a WTF look. "I'll take that to be no"

"Michael, I need to know" Robin said, "Have you and one of your pokemon ever not clicked?" Michael shook his head.

"No, I believe that each pokemon I catch, I am supposed to catch" Michael said, "Why?" Robin looked down at Wisp.

"No reason"

* * *

The hotel we were staying at got all of it's water from the hot springs. I had always assumed that this would mean all the water was boiling hot, but in an amazing twist of irony (IRONY!!!) all of the water was brutally cold. None of it was warm, not one drop.

Lisa and Louis, along with their pokemon, chose to stay back at the springs. Michael and Robin both choose to come back, and this meant all of us (including Rush) had to come back. Rush was sobbing like a small child, and I was trying my hardest to ignore him. We were walking down the hall to the room Michael had just rented, and I noticed the towel Robin was wrapped up in was made of the same material as her pants suits.

Wisp was asleep on Robins' arms, making little vul noises. She was barely moving, her breathing so slow. Robin put her hands over the Vulpixs' ears, and looked at Michael.

"I'm considering releasing Wisp" Michaels' face went completely calm. If a stranger had seen him, they wouldn't have known any thing was wrong. I knew though, it was taking all of his energy not to slug Robin. He was flexing his fingers slowly.

"What?" Michael said through gritted teeth.

"I caught Wisp two weeks ago" Robin said, "And in that time, she bit me six times, burned me four, attacked me for no reason nine, and ignore over one hundred commands. Do you know what this means?"

"Yeah" I said, "It means you're a bitch"

"That wasn't nice" Flash said, "What did Robin do to you?"

"I'll have you know, she!" I paused, "She uh"

"You know what I just realized!" Sharon cried, running up beside us, "I just realized, I'm the first Gyarados who can't fly!" Thank God for Sharon and her stupidity. "Gyarados are water/flying. Why can't I fly?"

"Gyarados fly like Scyther fly" I said, "You don't really fly, you kind of hover" I figure, Sharon was nice enough to get me out of one hell of an uncomfortable situation, I could indulge her crazy. For awhile at least. Finally, we got to our room, the moment I never thought would arrive, we arrived at our room. Michael slipped the key card in, opened the door, to see water pouring out every where.

* * *

We would later learn a pipe had burst in the walls of the room. Since Lavaridge had so many hotels (lots of people stayed over night, before trekking up the mountain again), their had to be lower end hotels. Ones where not many people stayed. Robin was there, due to Robin's cheapness. We would end up there due to our collective stupidity. Any ways, the pipe burst causing black water damage on all of the walls. The walls didn't break though, due to cracks in the walls that allowed water to seep out and destroy the carpeting and beds. This hotel was so bad, they didn't have maids for rooms with out guests, so no one noticed a ruined, soggy room. Robin shook her head, before turning to Michael.

"You know, you have the worlds worst luck with hotels"

"How can they charge me for the damage to the room?" Michael asked, as we sat in Robins room. It was a half an hour later, and things hadn't gone well. "I wasn't in the room when the pipes burst, and as far as I can tell, they had been going for awhile"

"I think the problem is" Robin called from the bathroom as she changed, "They can't prove you were there, or disprove you were there"

"One would assume the fact I wasn't there would be good proof" Michael said, sighing. One would think so, but common sense died a long time ago. He will be missed.

"I liked the room" Sharon said, "Gyarados like water, so much fun, filled with shiny!"

"You know" I said to Sharon, "Titan is shiny" Sharon turned and saw Titan. Her eyes went big.

"I'll kill you" Titan whispered. I laughed, as Sharon ran and crashed into him.

"Shiny! Shiny shiny shiny shiny!" Sharon ranted, "Uh, what was I doing?" Shrugging, she decided just to nibble on the poor Aron. Eh, made me feel good. Flash even laughed as Titan squirmed to escape. "Shiny no go!"

"Please kill me! I just want to die!" Titan at this point in time was at level 29. In three more levels, Titan would evolve and Sharon wouldn't be able to bite him. I could tell him…. Or I could ignore him, and climb into Michaels' lap. I opted for the latter.

"Well, I don't want to think about my room" Michael said, as he began to stroke my fur. "Lets talk about Wisp"

"Let's not" Robin said, trying to dodge.

"Robin, you can't just release a pokemon because you don't get along with it the moment you capture it" Robin sighed.

"It's just, all of my other pokemon and I bonded the moment we met. I mean, Ra-Ra just evolved into Gallade. I know you have to use an evolutionary stone, and since I didn't have one, then Ra-Ra must have loved me so much, he evolved with out one!" I was tempted to ask how Robin managed to insert her head that far up her own ass, and still manage to breath. "Wisp though, she never has been like that. I've done every thing I could, I leave her out of her pokeball, I treat her special, I gave her a different name!" Michael sighed.

"Two things Robin" Michael said, "First, your attempts at being nice are rather shallow, and they'll end up making your other pokemon upset since your giving Wisp a special treatment. Second, you've only had two weeks, you can't have done every thing" Robin sighed.

"I really don't want to talk about it" Robin said, "Let's go find your friends" Seeing he wouldn't get any further, Michael picked me up and followed Robin. Every one else was left in the room, since we would only be gone a few minutes.

"Good, the nitwit is gone" Wisp said, jumping up. Seeing as this was the least crazy thing my group had ever seen, they barely paid her any attention. Wisp ran over to the window, and blasted it away with a stream of fire. Rush noticed this, and went over.

"What are you doing?"

"Escaping" Wisp said.

"No! I won't let you" Rush shot off two water guns, but Wisp ran and cleared the window seal. "I won't let you!" Rush jumped, and followed her.

"Have you considered you might have hurt Rush?" Enfer asked, as we walked back to Robin's room. Lisa was upset about the accommodations, Louis was so stoned he didn't notice.

"What do you mean?"

"I never got the chance to talk to you this morning" Enfer said, "But you destroyed Rush when you said Lisa would never love him.

"That's true though!" I said. Enfer sighed.

"You don't know that" We arrived at the room, and Robin slid the key card (they have key cards, but not maids?!) "What if Rush does something crazy"

"Like what?" I asked. Robin opened the door, and we got our first view off the broken window. A quick scan of the room revealed Wisp and Rush missing. "Okay, this might be my fault"


	46. Nights With Robin

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XLVI : Nights With Robin**

Michael didn't believe it at first. He stared at the broken window, and at where his Mudkip should have been. He kept willing Rusht to appear in the room, but all that happened was wind blowing through the broken window.

"I should be surprised" Michae said, "I honestly should be. I'm not though, is that scary?" Louis shrugged, toking hard at this point in time. Lisa laughed, a laugh of anxiety. Robin tried to run over to the window, but they held her back. I just sighed, this affecting me in no way what so ever. I figure, Rush is an idiot, but nothing bad would happen to him. Wisp I knew nothing about, but Rush would be fine.

"OhmyGodwhereisWisp!" Robin cried. Her eyes, like her hair, was splotchy red. Tears were streaking down her face, and I noticed her pants suit for the first time. It was pink, and covered with bows. Bows you find on a box. Who the hell wears bows, what are you a fucking birthday present? "WeneedtofindWisp,weneedtofindher"

"Alright, here's what will do" Michael said, "We'll divide into two groups and go search for them, okay?"

"One problem" Lisa said, gesturing to all the passed out pokemon on the bed. Enfer jumped up beside them, and gave a loud Canine.

"You'll watch?" Louis slurred. Enfer nodded, and Louis clapped happily. "I got the most fucking awesome Arcanine ever"

* * *

"Wait!" Rusch cried, running after the Vulpix, "Please stop, please please please stop" Wisp stopped, her scarlet fur on edge and her six tails rigid. She slowly turned back at him, scowl across her muzzle. "What the hell do you want?" Rush fired a water-gun, and Wisp fired a stream of fire. The two connected and created a thick steam that covered every thing.

"Why are you following me?" Wisp growled. She jumped and bit down her muzzle, "Why?" Rush mumbled something from his closed mouth. "What?" She let go, and Rush hacked for a moment.

"How do you expect me to talk with my mouth closed?" Wisp let out a scream of frustration, before turning away. "Don't follow me" Rush clenched down on two of her tails. "You know, if I were a Ninetales, you would be so screwed.

"I have a question" Rush said, letting go of her tails, "If a human pulls on a Ninetales tail, they end up a pokemon. Does a pokemon end up a human? Or something worse?" Wisp shook her head.

"You're an idiot, and I'm escaping" Wisp said. Rush followed her closly behind, not letting up. Wisp began to run, Rush matched speed. Wisp slowled down, Rush ran into her. He hit her head on, and ended up flipping over her. While lying on his back, Rush smilled at her. Wisp scowlled.

"What do you want?" Rush pulled him self up, shaking dirt off his head fin.

"Why are you running away?"

"I don't have to tell you" Wisp said, taking off. Rush followed close behind, not letting up.

* * *

I realized quickly we couldn't do anything right as a group. When we tried to split up, it was going to be Michael and Louis, Lisa and Robin. The problem, you may ask. The doobie formerly known as Louis protested, saying it should be one woman and one man. As he said this he was stairing at Lisa's cleevage. Pervert.

Well Michael realized that this was getting know where, and no matter what he did, Louis would still be a moron. So Michael relented, and the groups were Lisa and Michael, Louis and Robin. Lisa then grabbed Michael and gave him a kiss, tounge and all. I would have done the same thing, except I was a foot tall. It's a beautiful day when you don't have to deal with Robin.

Louis and Robin, the group I've dubbed the worthless rejects (a name a future friend of mine named Pecha would borrow, but more on her later), went immedietly to the gym. Why? Don't really know.

"She isn't here" Robin whined, making her voice even more annoying then normal. Who would have guessed that was possible? Louis pulled ou a joint, while Robin collapsed against the wall. She slid to the ground and burried her head in her hands, sobbing. Louis, sparking the doobie, dropped down beside her. He offered her a hit, but she refused.

"Is something wrong?"

"I'm a horrible trainer" Robin sobbed. "Do you think I don't know that?"

"I don't care" Louis said, "I miss my L3" Robin ignored him, and continued to cry.

"Everyone thinks I'm a horrible trainer" Robin said, "I'm not though. I act like a moron, because who will people be scared of. The ditzy red head, or the genius/dangerous trainer. I want to catch people off guard and obliterate them" She giggled a little. "I know what each one of my pokemon can do, I know how strong they are, I know them inside and out. I don't know Wisp though"

"I'm buzzing really bad" Louis said, "So if you could shut up" Robin continued, and Louis groaned.

"Truth is, I'll never be the worlds greatest trainer. I love each of my pokemon, and I selected them by strength. People think I selected them by looks, once again this is to catch them off guard. I would never be a genius stratigest, so I knew I had to get my pokemon to want to fight for me. I needed them to love me, so I treated them with respect. Yeah, I keep them in their pokeballs all the time, but that's because they can't go hungry in there.

"Wisp isn't like the others though. She doesn't respect me, I know she sees me as weak. Even though Wisp is a Vulpix, I know she thinks I'm weak. I'm never going to be her ideal trainer. She needs someone who loves her, but either dominates her or prooves they are strong" Louis sighed.

"Look, God knows I hate hearing you yakk, so I'm going to do you a favor" Louis pulled out a baggie with six joints. "When we're finished looking, and you start feeling depressed, you're going to pull one of these out and light up. You'll feel better, but more importantly, you'll stop being annoying" Robin looked at him, dissgusted.

"Okay first off" Robin said, "You're being a rude jackass. I'm allowed to talk, my Vulpix is lost, I love her"

"I thought you were going to release her" Robin sighed. She attempted to pluck the joint out of Louises mouth, but he grabbed her wrist with amazing speed.

"Didn't you listen to my speech?" Louis let go of her wrist.

"No, of course not"

"Well if you had, you would have heard me say I love Wisp, but I'm not the best trainer for her" Louis nodded. "Second, pot it illegal"

"You can either take the pot, or you can listen to me give you a long speech convincing you to take the pot" Robin ignored him, so Louis began. "I was born in a log cabin"

"Oh just give me the damn drugs"

* * *

Wisp had lead Rush on a chase across the citm until they finaly ended up at the hot springs. Wisp sat there panting, while Rush jumped up and down, excited as hell.

"Are you done yet?" Wisp growled at this.

"I'm not going back" Rush slowly approached Wisp, and she slowly backed up. She backed under a bench, but ended up tripping and falling over backwards. Rush ran over, as what Wisp tripped over stood up.

"Please don't hurt me" The scared voice said. The voice belonged to a Skitty, who was almost shaking with fear. Rush approached her, but she moved back until the hit one of the legs of the bench.

"What are you doing here?" The Skitty was panting.

"I was hiding" She said, as Wisp slowly stood up. The Skitty looked at her and screamed. "Auuhhhh! Vulpix!" She turned and ran head on into the bench leg, knocking her self out. Wisp shook her head, while Rush laughed.

"She's cute, I like her" Rush said, before nailing the stunned Vulpix with a water gun. This weakened Wisp to the point she could no longer run. She looked at Rush, panting as beads of water rolled off of her fur.

"So you finaly got me. Can I ask why?" Rush shrugged.

"You said Robin is a horrible trainer?"

"She is"

"No she's not" Rush said, "She's not close to a horrible trainer" He smiled, "Trust me, I would know"

"You would know?" Rush thought about big red and little red. He looked back at the small scar on his tail fin. Even now it almost brought him to tears, but he was able to hold them back.

"I'm not going to let you run away" Rush said, "I'm sure Robin is a fine trainer. We're going to wait here until they show up" Wisp let out an exasperated cry.

"But that could be all night!" Rush shrugged.

"Then we wait all night"

* * *

It was five more hours before we got back to the hotel. Before we left, Lisa told them the window was broken (We figured some body who looked like her would be able to get cooperation from them) and they needed to fix it. Well they fixed it, by putting a large garbidge bag over it. Robin was almost catitonic, weeping like a baby. I was having a great time, no Rush, no having to deal with L3 or Sharon. How can you not love it?

"We didn't find her" Robin said, sitting on the bed with all of our pokemon. Michael dropped me down, and I walked over to them. Enfer looked up at me from off of the bed.

"How did it go?" She asked. I noticed L3 was pinned under one of her paws.

"Take a guess" I said. "Why do you have L3 down there?"

"Take a guess" Enfer said.

"Iwantoutneedtodosomethingnow!" L3 screamed. Enfer let her go, and the white blurr that was L3 ran over to Louis and grabbed his head.

"Hi L3" Louis said, "Did you miss Daddy?"

"Gimmiepot!" L3 screamed. I sighed, and walked over to Titan. Sharon was still nawing on him, and didn't look like she was going to let go any time soon. Hey, she could finaly focus on something!

"How's it going?" I asked in a sweet voice. Titan yelled, out a string of explitives that can only be repeated in this story.

"Fucking horrible! I'm going to fucking kill you, you fucking bitch for leaving me in this hell, and if you think I'm lying you're fucking wrong" Sharon kicked Titan on the back.

"Quiet shiny" She went back the nawing. Titan sighed.

"So, how did your day go?" I smilled.

"We're looking for a Vulpix who doesn't want to be found" I said, "And a Mudkip I hope isn't found" I flopped down on the bed. "Why do you think Rush ran off after that Vulpix?"

"No one knows the intercomplexities of Rushes stupidity like your self Angel" Titan said, "So if you don't know, how would I know" Titan stood up and tried to shake off Sharon. She held on tight though, refusing to let Titan leave. I smilled, and looked to see Flash was asleep.

"Rush is missing, but he's so calm. Why is that?" Titan shrugged (as only an iron covered piece of rock can).

"He said he knows Rush and Wisp would be okay, so he's not worried" Titan said, "Flash is a weird one, isn't he?"

"For our group? Of course he is! Flash is….normal" I felt dirty saying that for some reason. As I talked to them, Michael consoled Robin.

"It's all my fault!" Robin cried.

"Yes it is!" I called, "So glad you finaly figured it out"

"I'll be a better trainer" Robin cried, "I promise" Lisa sighed.

"Robin, I'm so sorry this happened" She said, "Me and Louis will go out and look one more time"

"We will?" Louis asked. He looked Lisa up and down, smiling as he did. "I mean, of course we will"

"Come along pig" Lisa said, leading Louis by the hand. Michael consoled Robin for a little while longer, until she finaly began to calm down.

"I have to go argue with the hotel people" Michael said, "Will you be okay alone for a while?" Robin nodded. Michael kissed her on the forehead, and left the room.

"I feel awful Robin said, sighing. "I need something to calm me down, I need" She pulled out one of the joints Louis had given her. "Eh, why not"

* * *

"This is no good" Louis said, as he swallowed a joint he had just placed in his mouth. Lisa stared at him, confused as hell.

"Why did you just eat that joint!?" Louis sighed.

"If you must know, I made six joints, not for smoking, but for eating. You see, pot as you know gives you a semi-pleasant high. Well, I soaked six of them in LSD, which can give you either an ultra good high, or a nightmarish low. I was thinking the pot would cause the LSD to only give you an ulta good high, eliminating the nightmare part" Louis said. Lisa just shook her head.

"You know, if you were a scientist with your brain, you could have cured cancer"

"These aren't my LSD joints" Louis said. "Can't remember where I left them"

"Forget your pot" Lisa said, "Where did you and Robin search. Me and Micheal searched outside the hotel, two neighborehoods, most of main street, about half of the town"

"We looked around the gym" Louis said, laughing. "Then we went back" Lisa screamed at the stupidity of this man. "I say we go to the hot springs"

"Why?" The sun was setting by now, and the streets were mostly empty.

"Uh, cause they might be there" Louis said. Deciding it would just be easier to agree than fight a brain-dead stoner, Lisa agreed and the two were off.

* * *

The hot springs were empty and silent, except the bubbling of the water. Rush was under the bench with Wisp and the Skitty, speaking to the Skitty.

"Why are you so scared?" Rush asked, "You're trembling" The Skitty sighed.

"I'm just scared of getting hurt, or captured by a mean trainer, or of getting burned, or a million other things" Rush smillled.

"You're a coward, aren't you?"

"Not a coward, just scared of every thing" The Skitty said. "How are you able to deal with being captured?"

"I have a nice trainer, and someone who brightens my day" Rush said. Suddenly, both their head perk up.

"I'm telling you, they're not here" Lisa said, "Now lets go"

"Or we could get in the water, naked" Louis said as he pulled his shirt off. Lisa scizzor kiced him in the sprouts, and Louis fell to his stomach, in front of the bench. "Oh sweet Jesus, I've lost all feeling! I can't breathe, I can't" His eyes went wide at what he saw. "I found them!"

"You did?" Lisa ran over, shoving Louis out of the way, and crawled under the bench. "Rush!"

"Kip! Rush ran over, and Lisa grabbed him. She reached and scooped up the very weak Wisp.

"I was so worried" Lisa said, kissing Rush on the muzzle, before turning to Wisp. "I can understand why you ran off, if Robin was my trainer, I woud do it too"

"What do I do with this one" Louis said, standing back up and holding a Skitty. He was petting it, and it was cooing in his arms.

"I dunno, I think it's wild" Lisa said. Louis smilled.

"I'm keeping it then" Louis said, "And I've got a great name for it" He turned to the Skitty, "You'll be Louis4"

"You name it Louis4" Lisa said, "And I'll put my fist through your brain. You'll name it Nel"

"Why?"

"Because she looks like a Nel, an it's a hell of a lot better then L4"

* * *

Michael spent close to an hour arguing with the hotel people, until finaly they agreed the destroyed room wasn't his fault. Feeling like his head was about to explode, Michael returned to Robin's room, to see her smoking one of the LSD joints while looking at his reincarnation book from Slateport, me on her lap. She looked up as he came in, and smilled stupidly.

"Robin, what are you doing?"

"Reading. I've been reading and it's so amazing, I mean so amazing cause the entire world suddenly makes sense. I can see heaven and God, I know every thing" Robin said, "All it took was six joints!" Michael just shook his head, and attempted to pull the joint out of her mouth. Robin refused, and sucked the still lit joint into her mouth. She then opened her mouth to reveal it was empty.

I had been trying to sleep as Robin smoked weed, but found it more fun to sit on her lap and mess with her as she got high. Michael picked me up, but Robin protested. "Don't take Angel away, she was speaking to me" I laughed.

"Your are so fucked up" I said.

"She said fuck a lot" I closed my mouth. How did she notice that.

"We're back!" Lisa said, opening the door, before I could investigate this further. "We brought friends"

"WISP!!!!" Robin jumped up and pulled Wisp out of Lisa's arms. She kissed Wisp repeatedly, as Wisp struggled to get out. Lisa handed Michael Rush.

"Is that a Skitty?" Michael asked, looking at Louis.

"Don't ask"

* * *

It was a long night, all of us stuck in the same room. Michael and Louis sleapt on the floor, while the rest of us took up a very small bed. The next two days, nothing of importance happened. Finaly on Monday, Robbin headed off to the gym to get the badge she had earned. Lisa and Louis woke up and went off to get breakfast, choosing not to wake Michael (great friends). Finaly, Michael woke to find him self all alone.

"You know, when this journey ends, I need to look into therapy" Michael said, going into the bathroom. I heard the shower water start a moment later. I closed my eyes to go back to sleep, but the door opened. "Robin, is that you?" Michael called.

"Yeah, it's me" Robin said, "I came to get my bag" Robin looked at me, and smilled, she sat down on the bed, and placed me on her lap. "Hello Angel, I had an interesting night last night" She said. "Do you know what happened?"

"You realized your head is up your own ass?" I asked.

"When I was high, I had a moment of absolute clairity" Robin said. "And I could see all of the truths in the universe. Including the truths I had seen in that book of Michael's. All I had to do was connect the dots to get the answer" She snickered, "Right Angela?"

"WHAT THE FUCK!" I screamed.

"I'll take that loud Veee to mean yes" Robin said, "Don't worry though, I'm not going to tell Michael. You know why? Because if he finds out that you are in that sweet Eevee body, I'll never have a chance with him. As long as your dead, I always have a chance" She put me back on the bed, and stood up. Reaching into her bag, Robin pulled out a pokeball with a sticky note on it. She left it on the bed, and turned to leave. "Good-bye Angela"

A few minutes later, Michael came out to see Robin was already gone. She had left the room key with him the day before, but he still wanted to say good-bye. Shrugging, he noticed the pokeball on the bed.

"Give this to the blonde woman" Michael read, "She and Wisp got a long better in two minutes then me and Wisp in two weeks, Robin left Wisp?" He sighed, and slumped down on the bed. "She left Lisa her Vulpix. If nothing else, at least Robin knows when she can't be the best trainer for a pokemon. I suppose she isn't the worst person in the world, right Angel" I nodded.

Yeah, she wasn't the worst.

She was just a fucking bitch.


	47. Fire Fight

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XLVI : Fire Fight**

Alright, we finally get to Flannery. Next to Winona (and her fucking birds) Flannery is probably my least favorite gym we visited. It's a fire-type gym, and fire is fucking hot. You don't realize how hot though, until you get set on fire. It then hits you, it's really fucking hot. It's hot, their is no water around, and you have to sit there and take it. If you don't, you loose. Ugh.

Fire-type pokemon are an extremely popular group, so I hate them for that. I don't hate fire-type, but I never really cared about them. Offensively, they're the second or third best (behind only ground, and possibly ice type). They're strong against my grass, insect (two types no once cares if your strong against), my steel, and ice. Unfortunately, water-type, dragon, and rock resist fire. You never want water to be resident to you, one in every five pokemon is a water type. Dragon-type are a pain in the ass, and you really don't want at attack they're resistant to.

Defensively, fire-type are awful. Next to ice-type, they are possibly the worst in this area. They are weak against ground, water, and rock. I know what you're thinking, three weaknesses isn't that bad. Yeah, well every one carries water and ground type! Not only that, but ground-type attacks can be learned by just about any type. Grass pokemon can learn earthquake, and as long as their faster then what ever fire-type they're fighting, they can take it down in one or two hits.

Your starter is close to evolving by now, but it still hasn't. Grovyle is the worst one to use here, for obvious reasons. Grovyle is faster then Flannery's pokemon, but that's about it. Use a ground-type or water-type.

Cumbusken isn't much better. Yeah it isn't hurt by any of the pokemon, but it isn't strong against them either! Cumbusken at least is part fighting-type, so its attacks can be neutral, but what if she pulls out the fucking Camerupt? Nothing, you're fucked. Once again, ground or water.

It pains me to say this (believe me, it does) but Marshtomp is probably the best of them here. Hell, Marshtomp was designed for this fucking gym. A water/ground combination, it is resistant to fire and both of its types are strong against them. You want a strategy, here it is, throw fucking water on them. If you can't win with this thing, you don't deserve to be a trainer.

* * *

"Flannery had better have a good excuse" I grumbled "Causing us to wait a day"

"Why do you care so much?" Flash asked.

"I want to win!" I screamed.

"Can someone help me out?" Titan asked. Sharon was carrying him (yes, she had managed to lift him) by his head. Sharon trotted along happily, Titans head in her mouth, while he attempted to escape. I was amazed at the strength of the Trapinch/Gyarados. I was beginning to wonder if pointing out that Titan is shiny was a good idea. Then I remembered all of the times he talked about taking me, which made me realize I couldn't have told soon enough.

"I want to die" Rush moaned. Lisa had been given Wisp about an hour ago, and already Wisp had done something to earn Rush's ire. Wisp had fallen asleep in Lisa's arms, meaning Rush couldn't fall asleep in her arms. "I wont die though. Oh no, Wisp would want that"

"Wisp doesn't even know Lisa is her new trainer" I said, "Lisa released her from her pokeball, and she didn't wake up"

"It's all part of her evil plan" Rush said, "To phase me out"

"You're paranoid" Flash said. Rush turned to us, looking as fierce as a Mudkip can look. Which means he looked very cute, with slight lip trembling.

"Paranoid? I'm not paranoid, I'm the only sane person in a world of crazies!"

"When you say that dude" I said, laughing a little as I did, "You've gone crazy" Rush ran over, and nipped at me. The problem is Rush is so sweet, he is incapable of biting.

"Hey guys?" Louis said, "Is this normal?" L3 was doing her traditional hyper-dance around Louis. Nell was standing on Louises head, all legs extended, and claws dug into his scalp. She was hyperventilating, and her eyes kept darting around nervously.

"Newfriendnewfriendnewfriend" L3 chanted, doing back-flips on a circle around Louis. "We'regoingtobebestfriends"

"Don't touch me!" Nell said in a meek voice. I think she was trying to scream. "I know how to operate a weapon"

"You do not" I said, even though she couldn't hear me.

"Having a Skitty on your head?" Michael asked, "For you? It seems pretty normal, considering our group"

"Is this normal then?" Lisa said, holding up Wisp. Wisp didn't even wake up. "Why did Robin leave me her Vulpix?"

"Why did you except?!"

"Beats having Robin as a trainer" Lisa mumbled. She stroked Wisps ears, and Wisp cooed softly.

The only member of our group who was suspiciously quiet was Enfer. Enfer had taken me out to train to nights ago. It had consisted of dodging flame-throwers, and standing on a metal surface as Enfer heated it up. I had to learn how to take it, had to be strong.

I looked back at the Arcanine. She was looking off into the distance, obviously thinking about something. What though, I had no idea.

The gym looked like it was one fire. I mean literally, once you walked into the reception area, you got the feeling of being on fire. The reception area was carpeted with maroon carpeting. The walls were painted with orange flames on red walls. Sub-consciously, we all began sweating.

The receptionist dictated Lisa and Louis to the observers side, while Michael and the rest of us were shown the door to the challengers area. Michael was nervous, mumbling things under his breath.

The gym area was hot. Not like the rest of it mind you, the temperature in Lavaridge is kept at one hundred and six degrees. The bare minimum needed to keep a fire-type pokemon happy. For the rest of us though, it meant we would start to loose weight at a sweated pound a minute.

Flannery was chewing gum, lying on her back on the gym leaders mat. She hadn't even noticed us coming in, until Michael cleared his throat. Sighing, she turned to us and stood up.

"I'm Flannery, Lavaridge gym leader, blah blah blah"

"Is something wrong?" Michael asked. Flannery sighed.

"Sorry, I'm depressed. I got beaten by a squawky, pants suit wearing, slow-witted red head. It depressed me so much, I had to take a vacation"

"Robin has that effect on people" I mumbled.

"Oh well, maybe this will make me feel better" Flannery attempted to smile, "Let's go, challenger picks first pokemon"

"Thank you" Michael said, "Flash, you're first" Flash marched his fluffy pink body onto the field.

"Alright, go Slugma!" Slugma is one of the most worthless, if not the most worthless, fire-type of all. They are essentially a large glob of lava with eyes. On the plus side, they evolve into something possibly even weaker. The Slugma let out a small yawn.

"Flash, thunder-wave" Flash unleashed a stream of thin electricity, hitting the lump of lava head on. Slugma froze in mid-yawn, liquid body not moving.

"Slugma's been paralyzed" Rush said.

"How do you paralyze liquid?" I asked.

"Slugma, ancient power!" The floor of the gym was metal, but that didn't stop Slugma from causing several rocks to pop out of the ground. Michael commanded Flash to dodge, and since he was so much faster then Slugma, the rocks smashed into each other harmlessly. Gravel fell to the ground every where, no damage. This begs the question, why the fuck would a gym leader have this as a pokemon?

"Flash, use thunder bolt" Sparks popped off of Flashes fur, as a large bolt of electricity shot of his body. It flew into the air, and made a U straight down on the lump of lava. Slugma's eyes went wide, and it collapsed on its side.

Hey, not every match can be exciting!

Now, it's important that you know Flash was at level 29 before the battle. The one battle tipped Flash over the edge, as Michaels' pokedex chirped. Flash had reached level 30, and you know what happens when a Flaaffy hits level 30? Flash began to glow.

"Flash is evolving?" Titan asked, Sharon only recently having let him go.

"Seems to be" I said.

"Shiny!!!!!" Sharon screamed, eyes going wide. Titan's outline grew taller, and thinner. His head began to look like a character. The glowing faded, and a large, yellow Ampharos stood in front of us. Flash looked down at him self.

"I'm not fluffy and pink?" Flash asked. He jumped and did a back-flip. "I'm not pink! I'm not pink! It's the greatest day ever, thank you Arceus. Thank you Mew. Thank you every other freaking legendary! I could take on any thing now"

"You did good" Flannery said, "And you Flaaffy evolved. Lucky you, but try this. Go Numel" A small yellow and green turtle appeared on the field.

"Darn it" Flash said.

"Flash, come back" Michael said. As Flash walk/hobbled over, Michael hugged it. "I'm so impressed" Michael whispered.

"He's only been here a month, and he evolves!" Flash raged.

"He's been here two!"

"Doesn't matter"

"Rush, you're up" Michael said. Rush gave an affirmative Kip!, and ran onto the field. The little turtle thing barely looked him in the eye. With out warning, it opened its mouth and released bits of fire, using ember. Rush though was water type, so it barely did a thing. "Water-gun Rush"

Numel are slower then dirt, and the water-gun hitting would have destroyed it. Flannery yelled out dig, the only thing Numel could use to avoid. Going face down, it pulled it's self into the metal (how the hell did it do that?) and disappeared. Ground-type are amazingly fast under ground, and Rush began looking around nervously. No telling where it would come from, or what it would do when it popped out.

"Rush, use mud-slap when Numels' head pops out" Rush nodded, as he moved around the field nervously. Suddenly, Numel's head popped out. Before Rush could use mud-slap, it bit him around the ankle, and jerked him under.

I've been pulled under ground by a certain psychotic ground type (Sharon) so I know what happens to a non-ground-type. You loose the ability to breathe, as dirt (and metal shavings as the case maybe) pour down upon you. You're body takes a beating, which is not at all what happened to Rush.

When Rush got pulled under, he used water-gun to fill up the little tunnel. Water began to leak out of the one hole that Rush had been poured into. Slowly, a small yellow head emerged, then a fat yellow body, as Rush pulled Numel out of the hole. Numel was unconscious, and Rush had won. He had barely taken any damage. No freaking fair!

"I win, I win, I win, I win" Rush chanted, doing a victory dance around Numel. Flannery sighed, and with drew Numel.

"Alright, next up is Camerupt" A giant wooly mammoth/volcano thing emerged on the field. It unleashed a deep bellow, as it faced Rush. Rush smiled.

"I like you, you're nice"

"You're a moron!" I screamed, "Kill! Kill!" Flannery seemed to be enjoying this match a bit more, because although she was loosing, she was smiling.

"Camerupt, magnitude" Shit. Camerupt roared (bellowed? I don't know, it all sounds the same), and suddenly the ground began to shake. Magnitude is a luck based attack, that will randomly unleash a set amount of energy and cause an earthquake. Evidently, Flannery got lucky because the entire field began to shake like it was in a blender. Rush was tossed on his side and bounced up and down like a ball on a string.

The earthquake finally stopped as both me and Titan threw up. Sharon jumped up and down, chanting something about "fun ride!". Rush slowly pulled himself back up, bruises on his back. "Flame-thrower!" Camerupt opened it's mouth, and a pillar of fire consumed Rush.

"Water-gun" Steam consumed the field, as Rush fired water into the fire, neutralizing it. Camerupt fired another flame-thrower, and Rush jumped left. Left, right, right again, down on his belly to avoid the fire.

"Tackle Camerupt" It doesn't matter how much stronger you are then your opponent, if they weigh five hundred pounds and run into you, you'll get fucking hurt! Michael though was smart, and figured how to finish of Camerupt.

"Rush jump!" Rush jumped straight up at Camerupt prepared to hit. He landed on Camerupts back, in front of the first volcano. "Water-gun into the volcano" Rush pulled him-self up, and fired straight into Camerupt. Camerupt's eyes went huge, as steam exploded from both volcanoes. It must have been in tremendous pain, but it had to be done. Camerupt blinked once, then fell onto its side, body rigidly straight. Rush jumped off.

"Sorry"

"Don't apologize to the enemy!" I screamed. "Kill the enemy" Flannery with drew Camerupt.

"Rush, come back" Michael said.

"What the fuck?!" I screamed. When something is working, you don't pull it out. Rush didn't seem to mind, he walked back happily. Seeing him hold his head up high made me sick.

"Sharon, you're out"

"What's going on?" The Trapinch asked. Shrugging, she marched onto the field. "Gyarados ready captain!"

"You're doing good" Flannery said, "Last pokemon, come on Torkoal" A giant orange and black tortoise appeared on the field. Smoke was coming off of his shell, and little bits of lava were leaking out of the holes on it. "Torkoal, smoke screen" Torkoal opened its mouth, and black smoke poured out. It covered the field, and completely coated Sharon.

"I know! I'll just fly about it, then I'll see!"

"Gyarados can't fly" Titan cried.

"Damn it" Suddenly, Sharon let off a cry as she was tossed in the air. Their was a loud thud, as she hit the ground hard. "Owe! That hurt"

"Come on come on" Michael mumbled. "Sharon, use sand tomb" The smoke vanished, as swirling sand shot out of Sharon. It hit and consumed Torkoal, hitting it all over. Blood began to leak from it's nose, ouch.

"Torkoal, use flame-thrower" Torkoal punched through the wall of sand, heading straight for Sharon. Sharon was hit head on, and covered in soot. She shook her head, shaking off the soot.

"Gyarados feel no pain!" Sharon said, "Rawr" She ran straight at Torkoal, and began biting on its leg.

"Sharon, use sand-attack" Sharon tossed sand straight at Torkoal, who barley avoided it.

"Torkoal, use overheat" Michael smiled.

"Sharon, dig!" Torkoal unleashed a huge blast of fire that missed entirely, as Sharon vanished under the surface of the arena. The moment she did, the match was over. It didn't matter where Torkoal went, because Sharon popped up underneath it, hitting it in the gut. Torkoal moaned, and was thrown on its back, knocked out. The match was over.

Remember how I said that I hated this gym? It had nothing to do with getting set on fire. This was the only gym battle I didn't take part in.

Fuck.


	48. The Club With No Name

**AN: **Well the poll results are in, and by over 40 votes, this is the worst chapter of ALNM according to readers! Hooray!

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XLVIII : The Club With No Name**

I've always considered listening to Louis somewhere on par with listening to Adolph Hitler. You'll end up in a bunker somewhere, hating your life, and you'll probably kill your self. I know I've wanted to kill my self for a second time after spending time with Louis. Tonight was no exception.

My precious night music, the sounds that once put me to sleep, had been distorted. The sounds of a joint being lit, a beer tab being pulled, a Vigoroth going insane, those had invaded my night. Now all I wanted was peace and quiet to go to sleep, and maybe a gun to kill someone (lousy pants suit bitch). I was not going to get that quiet tonight though.

Louis had wanted to celebrate Michael being half-way to Ever Grande. So celebrating in typical Louis fashion, we went to a strip club. Lisa and Michael had both protested, but Louis had all of our money (we left the stoner in charge of our money, brilliant idea!) so we had to go.

The name of it was the Jiggle Room (oh God), but the sign had fallen off a long time ago, making it the club with no name. Louis got us seats in front of the cat walk. Enfer was sitting on the floor beside the booth, a vacant expression on her face. L3 was still bouncing around him, and Nel (his new Skitty "friend") still firmly clamped on his head. Her eyes were wide, and she had been hyperventilating the entire time.

"I see you!" She cried, "I know what you want! You'll never get me down! Never!"

"Shut the fuck up" I growled. I sighed, and tried to fall asleep on Michael's lap, as he stroked my fur with one hand. His face was in the palm of his other hand, as he prayed for death. He had called Sharon, Flash, and Titan into their pokeballs, humiliated to be here. I didn't have a pokeball, and Rush had refused to be pulled back in. Instead, he was staring at Wisp, who was cradled in one of Lisa's arms.

"I'll get her" Rush mumbled, "Thinks she can take my place? Never!" Stupid, paranoid Mudkip. "I know her plans, I know them. She thinks she can space me out" At this time, Wisp finally woke up. She looked up, slightly confused.

"What happened?"

"Robin abandoned you, and now you travel with us" I said.

"Okay, cool" She went back to sleep. Nothing bothers Wisp. If you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't be able to tell she was breathing.

Lisa was miserable, as we watched the nude woman press herself against the metal poll. She sucked on a beer in the hand she would have held her cane in, and I bet she was pretending it was a gun. Louis was high as a kite, stroking a very noticeable lump in his pants, and decided to open his mouth and ask something stupid.

"Lisa, why don't I buy you a lap dance?"

"Why the hell would I want that?" Lisa growled.

"Well, I know you're half lesbo" That was all Louis got out before Lisa smashed her beer over his head. Louis looked up at the ceiling. "Did something hit me?" Lisa screamed, and turned to Michael.

"Talk to me, talk to me or I'll stab him in the chest"

"Stab away!" I said.

"Love meeeeee!" Rush cried. I smacked him (as best an Eevee can) upside the head. Michael shrugged.

"I don't know, I'm kind of in shock we only have four more to go. We're half way done" Michael grinned, "Now comes the hard part though. I hear Norman is a bastard"

"He can't be that bad"

"Norman was investigated six times on charges of child abuse!" Michael said.

"That was fifteen years ago, and none of them stuck" Lisa said, "Besides, what does that have to do with him as a gym leader?"

"Nothing I guess, I dunno" Michael shrugged, "I don't like the guy though. For one thing, he's creepy. Also, he trains normal-type. What the heck is normal exactly?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know what ice is, poison, dragon, every other type is. But what on earth is normal?"

"Give it to me baby!" Louis yelled, as he stuffed bills in the g-string of the stripper. "Come on, climb on my lap" Disgusting. Nel began hissing at the stripper, refusing to let go of Louises head.

"I'mboreddosomething!" L3 whined. If she kept her hyper-active ass moving, I was going to challenge her to a battle, just to get her to evolve. Plus, the idea of seeing Louis lug her five hundred pound ass around made me laugh. "" Hindsight shows that that statement was foreshadowing, but you'll see why later.

"You're going to need a fighting type" Lisa said, "For when you fight Norman. The problem is, their aren't many in Hoenn. At least, their aren't many that don't suck"

"Sinnoh got Riolu, and we got Meditite" Michael said, "We got screwed"

"Amen to that" Lisa said. She paused for a moment, before asking "Why did that red-haired slut give me her Vulpix?" I perked my ears up at this one.

"Do I look like I understand the insanity that passes for Robin's mind?" Michael asked, "Robin doesn't do things for any reason other then she can do things. To be honest, she was going to release it, but she gave it to you instead"

"But I don't want it" Lisa said, "Or at least, not at first. I mean, Wisp is such a sweet creature"

"Sweet?" I asked.

"I'm sweet!" Rush cried.

"Also, I like Vulpix" Lisa said, "They're not the strongest things in the world, but how can you not like them? They're in that sweet stage before they evolve into Ninetales, which is one freaky kitsune"

"What's a kitsune?" Rush asked.

"How the fuck would I know" I grumbled.

"I don't know if Wisp even likes me" Lisa said, "I mean, she's been asleep the whole entire day. When she wakes up, will she hate me like Robin? Will she like me?"

_Do I care?_ I asked myself. Figuring as long as the night music was an oratorio (oratorio? Aren't I smart) of bad 70's music and fake orgasms, I would never be able sleep, I decided to talk to Rush.

"Why wont you give up?" Rush jerked his head in my direction, confused by my words. "Lisa is never going to love you, and you're always going to be a Mudkip. Physically, any relationship would be impossible. When you talk, all she hears is Kip, over and over again. No emotional relationship for you either. So why do you still try?" Rush stuck out his tongue (Something that pisses me off for some reason, like the phrase lol).

"I have to hope" Rush said, "I have to hope we can break the language barrier, I have to have her love me"

"Why her though?" Now I was a bit curious, "Why her specifically?"

"Lisa's like" Rush stopped in mid-sentence, "I can't describe it. The moment I saw her, I knew. This would be my savior from this world, no matter what I would always have her"

"That's better then Louises reason" I said, "I believe it was, check out those knockers" Rush smiled.

"It wasn't physical when I saw her. It just clicked, everything just clicked. I wasn't sure it was anything more then a crush, until I heard why she was traveling. Releasing her pokemon back where they came from, Lisa put them ahead of her self. If I were human, I don't know if I could do that. Lisa is so kind, and so selfless though, and that is when I knew I was really in love with her. I know if we could just talk to each other, she would fall in love with me. That is why I don't give up, because when you feel this way, you don't give up"

I sat there, dumbstruck at his little speech for a moment, before whistling slowly, "Wow, you really do live in your own little world, don't you? I mean, you do realize that Lisa isn't this perfect, divine angel, don't you?" Rush nodded.

"I know she isn't, but I never see any flaws when I'm with her" He got a strangely dreamy look on his face. "All I see is her, and I imagine being with her. In her arms, holding her"

"You don't have arms!" I cried, but he continued on anyways.

"I know when we end up together, it wont be perfect. I know we will fight, but I know that it's meant to be. When you're in love, you know these things" Rush sighed, "I know why you don't understand those feelings. I mean, if I weren't in love with anyone, I wouldn't understand"

"What are you talking about!" I cried, jumping up. "I have those feelings! You can't say I don't" Rush nodded.

"Okay then, for who?"

"Michael, who else" I growled. Rush shook his head.

"I don't believe you"

"Do I care if you believe me?" I interrupted, sarcasm dripping off my tongue.

"You didn't let me finish" Rush said, "I believe you could feel that way, but you don't. You know why?"

"No, please tell me" I said, praying he would just shut up.

"Angel, it's for the same reason you can never be nice to anyone. You have problems you're not dealing with"

"What would you know about problems?" Rush unconsciously looked at the scar on his tail fin.

"I know better then you. Tell me something Angel, who do you blame for your suicide? You told me you hanged yourself, but it wasn't hard to figure it was suicide"

"How do you even know what the word suicide is?" I asked, "I thought your world was all smiles and sunshine, no suicide there"

"Evasion, answer the question"

"Look, the question isn't clear"

"Denial, answer the question" Rush said. He was no longer smiling, and was unusually serious. Well, as serious as a Mudkip can be (still came off as cute).

"The question doesn't make sense, and it doesn't have an answer" I said.

"The question is who is responsible for your suicide. The answer is who ever hung you on a rope. Who is responsible?" Before I could answer Louis, that wonderful stoner, interrupted.

"Dude, you haven't had any fun" Louis said, turning to Michael, "Why haven't you had any fun?"

"Lou, this place is a hole"

"It is not!" As Louis said this, the disco ball in the center of the building began spinning uncontrollably. It fell and smashed into the ground, sending mirrored pieces every where. As this happened, one of the smoke machines began making a horrible screeching noise. Sparks shot out of it, and a stripper giving a lap dance near it (Ms. Bubbles DoubleD was her name, I'm not making this up) noticed. She grabbed her coustomers vodka gimlet, and threw it on the smoke machine. The machine erupted into flames, and it was another two minutes before they put out the fire.

Michael shook his head, "This is the place happiness comes to die. I mean, half of the people in here are probably going to kill themselves within a year"

"Which ones, the strippers or the customers?"

"An equal mix of both" Michael replied, "Besides, I don't know what you feel when you see a nude woman dancing, but I don't feel that"

"You don't feel turned on?" Lisa asked.

"I feel turned on, but it's not any deeper then that" Michael smiled softly, "I want Angela" Louis and Lisa both groaned.

"Dude, she's dead" Louis replied, "Dead and on the end of a rope. You still haven't gotten over her, why I don't know, and I think it's time you did. You're going to fuck a stripper" Both Lisa and Michael looked at him like he was crazy. "Think about it, it'll get your mind off suicide girl, and it can be part of the healing process"

"I don't want to heal" Michael said, "And I definitely do not want to pork a stripper. I loved Angela, and I always will"

"Why" Lisa asked. "I'm not saying I don't believe you, but why her? From how you've described her, it certainly wasn't looks"

"No looks?!!" I screamed, forming a shadow ball. Before I could, Rush hit me with a water gun, causing me to set the shadow ball off on myself. Luckily, being normal-type, nothing happened to me.

"Better question" Lisa continued, "When did you fall in love with her?"

"You do realize there is no one moment when you can say you've fallen in love" Michael said, "But I'll tell you when I first realized it"

"Good enough" Michael leaned into the purple vinyl seat.

"I was twelve years old. It was a night in June, unusually warm. I saw something in Angela's house, something I'd ever seen before"

I knew the story before he told it.

* * *

I had been having a bad day that day, since Sylvia had decided to take me shopping, an activity that I loath. Not only that, but she forced me to wear this God-awful pink shirt, that read "I may not be cute, but you're fucking ugly". Someone should have accused them of child-abuse, I mean seriously.

Anyways, that night I had sat down to clip an article on a pokemon battle between Sapphire and then champion Wallace, that Sapphire won. I was going to put it in a scrapbook I had just bought, and was hoping for some peace and quiet. Reality though had decided to anal rape me, by sending drunk-off-his-ass Alistar into see me.

Alistar had recently gone on workers comp, and with all of his free time, decided to spend more of it getting drunk. Alistar was usually a harmless, albeit whiny drunk. Tonight though, he got mean.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Alistar asked, walking behind the couch were I sat. I glanced back for a moment, noticing a large bottle of booze in his left hand. Sighing, I turned back to the newspaper, ignoring him, and continued to cut out the article. "Hey, I asked you a question you bitch"

"I'm pretending I don't live here, and that you two are dead" I mumbled.

"What did you say?" Alistar snarled, grabbing my hair and pulling me back. I sliced at his hands with the scissors, causing him to let go of me. I jumped up and ran across the room, turning to watch my father nurse his bleeding hand. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" He looked me straight in the eye, and threw the bottle of alcohol at me.

Even when I was twelve, I was smart enough to know what would happen if that bottle hit me. The drunken Duncans has abused me verbally and emotionally, but never physically. If I let them start, they would never stop. Before the bottle hit me, I was able to grab it in my hands. I then threw it back, and watched it smash into Alistar's skull.

He let out a small noise, and collapsed on the ground. I walked over, to see him twitching a little, a small amount of blood coming from his head.

"Listen to me" I growled, "Try that again, and I will kill you. I maybe young, but don't think that means you can hurt me. Don't believe me? Try it again then, I dare you"

They never raised a hand at me. They still yelled at me, still fucked with me, but never touched me again.

* * *

"I saw this from my house, through their living room window" Michael said. "I saw how strong she was, and I was amazed. I had had a crush on her since I first saw her, but that night I realized how deep my feelings for Angela were" I was speechless, Michael saw me that night. Not only that, but he was impressed by me braking a bottle on Alistar's head? I pawed at Michael's chest, and when he looked down, I licked him across the nose. He smiled, and returned to Lisa and Louis. "Can we please leave, another minute in this place and I'll kill myself"

"I'm not leaving until someone other then me has a lap dance" Louis whined.

"Oh fine, I'll have one" Lisa said. Louis began to smile, "But you don't get to watch"

"Then what's the point, lets just go" Michael stood up, holding me and Rush. As we left, I looked at some of the people, depressed looks on their faces. I pitied them, because this was what my life had been like before I died. No happiness, no point, nothing to look forward to. Just another night at the club with no name.


	49. The Coming of Dana

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XLIX : The Coming of Dana**

Racism doesn't exist nearly as much as people think they do. For the most part, people are either to lazy or to stupid to be racist. The problem is when they are both lazy and stupid. They're to stupid to figure out they're racist, and to lazy to change their mind.

Dana Jeffries was just such a person.

Years later I've wondered if it's possible for a person to exist filled with so much anger and so much self-loathing. Maybe Dana was just a figure of my imagination? No, Dana was all to real, my dear listener. I don't know if I'm remembering all of the details correctly, but I believe I am. The day we met Dana began normally enough.

* * *

"I'm just saying, I would have liked the strip club" Titan said, "They had no reason to leave me in that accursed ball"

"I didn't think you were into humans" I said.

"I'm into nude anything sliding up and down a pole!" Titan protested. "Like if you were sliding up and down"

"Shut up or I will hurt you" I said. We had finally decided to leave Lavaridge, and we were currently walking through town. The sun was high, and was currently baking us like cookies. I was sweating through my fur, and Titan was fine. Lucky tin bastard. Who the fuck has heard of ninety degrees in October?

Flash was humming to himself as he walked behind us. Titan would look back at him every so often, obviously dying of jealousy that Flash had evolved. Titan needed to evolve in the worst of ways, simply so he would shut up about it. On the plus side, he had gotten Sharon to let go of his skull. I know what you're wondering, what was his clever plan? Titan pointed to the left, Sharon turned, dropped him, and got distracted by something else. Currently, she was running around behind us with L3.

"I can fly faster then you" Sharon said, as the two of them ran in circles, "Gyarados can fly faster then you!"

"I'mfasteryoucan'tbeatme" L3 screamed. The two had begun getting along when they both realized they're pains in the ass, and have a collective single digit IQ. The ran under Enfer, who didn't notice then. Enfer had been lost in her head for a few days, I was getting worried. Something was bothering her, but when I asked about it, she didn't respond.

Wisp had finally woken up, and had climbed out of Lisa's arms. Now she sat on her right shoulder, having a bit of troubled hanging on, although she didn't show it. Rush was back in Lisa's arms, and he kept scowling at Wisp, although she didn't notice. Nel was still on top of Louis, she had slept on his face. He had been so drunk, he hadn't noticed.

"You have never had alcohol?" Louis asked.

"Aside from that glass of champagne you forced me to drink" Michael said, "No I haven't" Louis shook his head.

"You know, you live a boring life dude" Louis said, "Luckily, you've got me dude. I'll make sure to get some in you" Michael just shook his head.

"You two are morons" Lisa said, as we passed a guy handing out flyers. Lisa took one. "If you had any sense Michael, you would" She looked down at the flyer, and stopped dead in her tracks. We walked on for a moment, before noticing she was no longer there. "Oh no, no no no"

"Something the matter?" Michael asked. Lisa looked up, grinning nervously.

"Uh, nothing" Lisa said nervously, balling up the flyer. She tossed it, but a heavy wind whipped up (universal irony at work) and blew the flyer to Michael. "Please don't" He unballed the flyer.

"Live in concert, one week, Dana Jeffries unplugged?" Michael looked over at Lisa. "Isn't Dana Jeffries the name of your sister?" She nodded. "I thought you said she was in a mental hospital" Lisa laughed.

"Funny thing about that, she isn't" Lisa said, "And no one has put a wooden stake through her heart, God knows why. Me and my sister aren't on good terms, mostly because she is a sick, ridiculous fucker"

"She can't be that bad" Michael said. "We have to meet her"

"No! Nonononononononono" Lisa chanted. So, they put it to a vote. Louis and Michael over turned Lisa, and we were off to find her sister.

* * *

"How do you know she'll be here?" Michael asked, as we stood in the lobby of the Four Arms hotel.

"This is the nicest hotel in town" Lisa said. "My sister has a way over estimated sense of self-worth. Also, it says her show is on every night for the next month on that poster"

"Performing in Lavaridge?" Louis asked, "Then that means"

"My sister has no career" Lisa sighed, "Come on, let's get this bitch done"

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Lisa asked, "I mean, we could do something more fun. Like setting our selves on fire, or pealing our skin off" We all shook our heads. Lisa sighed, and returned to the door. Her hand fidgeted on her cane. "Damn it" She knocked on the door.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming" Lisa sighed.

"I have to warn you about my sister" She said, "She is a horrible person, but on top of that, she does this weird thing when she talks" Before she could finish, the door opened, to reveal a copper haired woman who looked very hassled. She was easily as beautiful as Lisa, but while you could tell Lisa paid for her looks, this woman was born this way. Her brown eyes went wide. "Lisa?"

"Hi Dana" Lisa said, sounding like she was dead. Dana smiled.

"I'm so happy to see you" She grabbed Lisa in a hug. Lisa had the re-action I would have had, about to puke. It hit me, when Dana spoke, she spoke with an air of superiority. No matter what she said, she sounded like she was saying she was better then you. "What are you doing here?"

"They wanted to see you" Lisa said, "And we've seen you, now we can go"

"They who?" Michael and Louis waved. "Oh! You're traveling with people, how nice. I would love to catch up, but I'm going to lunch now. Unless you would like to come along"

"Actually, we"

"We would love to" Louis said, staring at Dana's knockers.

* * *

Michael had to go to the bathroom, so I sat in his seat. Dana had let Michael keep most of his pokemon in her room, so only me, Rush, Wisp, and Nel were here. Michael had gotten a soda to drink, and when they dropped it off, Louis pulled out a small, clear bottle. He dumped the content into Michael's soda, but no one noticed. He then turned to Lisa.

"Your sister doesn't seem to bad" Louis whispered.

"Just wait and see" Lisa replied.

"Anyways, I've been here a few weeks and I already hate it" Dana said, "I mean, you'll never guess what happened to me at the bank today"

"The robber took off his mask and gave it to you" Lisa asked, "Figuring you could use it more then he could?" Dana scowled.

"No, of course not" Dana said. "Well, I was already having a bad day, because I was stuck behind these two gooks"

"I see what you mean" Louis said.

"Who could make up their minds on what they wanted to do" Dana said, "Then I get up there, and the teller is this dyke. I suppose she wasn't an unattractive dyke, she could have passed for normal had she tried. Well, I think she began to hit on me, and oh god I was afraid she might get the gay on me"

Lisa had been raised in an elitist, racist, homophobic (in the most literal sense), nihilistic household. Dana and Lisa took to their families in different ways. Dana took every word they said to heart, and became an idiot. Lisa took to kissing girls.

"Dana, if you could stop the slurs for five minutes" Lisa said, "Have you noticed my cane" Dana shrugged.

"I just assumed you did something stupid" Dana said, as Michael returned to the table.

"What did I miss?" He asked, picking me up and placing me on his lap.

"I got shot in the stomach!" Lisa cried. "The bullet almost went through my spine!"

"Like I said, you did something stupid"

"Nothing much dude" Louis replied.

"Good to know" Michael took a slug of soda. "This taste weird" Shrugging, he took another drink.

"A madman almost killed me! You're right, it's all my fault!"

"Glad you're excepting it" Dana said, patting her on the hand. "I notice you're not in a relationship either. Not surprised really" Lisa snarled, then began smiling crazily.

"Actually, I'm pregnant"

"You are?" Dana asked surprised, "I assumed it was just weight from over eating. Tell me, who is the father"

"Rush is" Lisa said.

"And who is Rush" Lisa held the ultra-excited Mudkip up. She then kissed him on the muzzle.

"Hey, that's my Mudkip!" Michael cried. Dana screamed.

"You-you-you" Dana began twitching. "You-you're-you're fucking a Mud-Mudk-Mud-Mud-Mudkip?" If she weren't sitting down, Dana would have collapsed on the ground. "Oh my God, my sister is a fucking pokephilliac. God's going to kill her"

"You don't believe in God" Lisa snarled.

"But if I did, he'd kill you" Dana replied. The only thing that scared Dana more then homosexuality, was pokephillia. I was laughing by this point in time, simply because Rush got what he always wanted, and he got to screw with a snob. "Oh God, why Lisa?"

"Because I could" Lisa said, smiling.

"Yeah, you go Lisa" Michael cried, applauding. I could smell heavy booze on his breath. Louis tried to take his drink away, but Michael refused. "Lou, wha did ya do to me?" Louis shrugged.

"A shit load of vodka" Louis said, "I figured you would want to try booze, even though you said you didn't"

"Noooo!" Michael said. "I said I didn't want it! If I don't want it, it means…Uh? I lost my thought" Louis nodded.

"Well, how do you feel?" Michael giggled.

"Pretty damn good" He pulled me off of his lap by my tail. "What do you think Angel?"

"Let go of me, or I'll kill you" I snarled. Michael kissed my forehead, and dropped me on his lap.

"I have to get you to give this up" Dana said, "It isn't like giving up a baby is something new to you" Now every one turned to Lisa, even Wisp looked surprised.

"Drop it Dana" Lisa growled. "Drop it now" Dana shrugged.

"What ever, doesn't matter to me" She said, "Let's get some lunch, and get out of here" Suddenly, Dana smiled. "I know something you'll find interesting. I know you like pokemon, so I got something for me" Dana lifted up a large purse she had been carrying. She unzipped it, and a small, yellow head stuck out. "It's the latest trend, small pokemon as pets, pocket pokemon"

"Pocket-pocket monsters" I said. "Why not" The small creature was a Pichu, that looked very unhappy to be zipped inside of a purse.

"Anyways, I named her Pecha" Dana said, jerking her out of the purse by her small skull, "And she loves me. Right Pecha?" Pecha's body hung limp, and she looked like she was about to die.

"How often do you feed it?" Louis asked. Nel hissed at the Pichu, and Dana shrugged.

"I feed it when I remember" She shoved the small creature back in the purse. "So, whose ready to order?"

* * *

"Why is Michael walking into a wall?" Titan asked. Michael had gotten extremely drunk (thanks Louis) and he was currently walking into the left wall of Dana's hotel room.

"Believe me" I said, "You don't want to know" Right now, Lisa and Dana were fighting, while Louis sat on the bed with us, imagining them with no clothes on.

"I mean, you've been here a week!" Dana cried, "A week, and you haven't seen my show, Dana Jeffries Unplugged"

"Believe me" Lisa yelled, "If you ever end up on life support, I'll be first in line to see you unplugged"

"I need to throw Jell-O on them" Louis said. Titan looked up at him.

"This man is my new God"

"Finally, you show up to see me" Dana said, "And all you can talk about is your perverted relationship with that, that thing!"

"Kip!"

"And about how I'm not a good enough owner for Pecha" Dana said, "Well, how about I show you how good of an owner I am" She unzipped her purse, and jerked the very tired and confused Pichu out, along with a small bowl and even smaller bag of pellets.

"Dana, what the fuck are you doing"

"If Pecha is so hungry, she can eat" Dana snarled, dumping the food in the bowl. "Okay Pecha, eat!" Pecha just stared at the bowl, confused. "Well, eat damn it" Pecha touched one of the pellets, but didn't pick it up. "Eat damn it!" Dana smacked Pecha upside the head.

What happened next was caused by hormonal Mudkip, and stupid copper-haired racists. Lisa had always talked about how important pokemon were to her, and how much she loved them. When Dana smacked Pecha, Lisa snapped. But before Dana could smack the poor Pichu again, someone jumped and bit her hand.

"Kip!" Rush cried, biting down hard. Rush stopped Dana, hoping to get Lisa's attention. Instead, he caught the eye of someone else. Pecha looked at the Mudkip, curiously.

"Save me?" She whispered, before passing out. Dana shook her hand rapidly, eventually slinging Rush hard. Rush flew, across the room and into the open door way of Dana's bathroom. Dana returned to her sister, only to see Lisa's wooden cane hit her in the face. If Lisa had had a gun, she would have shot her sister.

A knife, she would have cut her throat.

She had a cane though, so instead she broke her nose.

"FUUUUUCK" Dana screamed, jumping up. Blood poured from in between her fingers. Lisa stood up also, seething with rage. Dana suddenly began to giggle.

"What happened?" Titan asked.

"I think she's lost it" I said. "So full of bullshit, she finally snapped" Dana lowered her hands, giving us a good view of the mash of bone and blood that was once Dana's nose.

"I should have expected as much" Dana said, "You could never take me in a fight. You have to attack me unprovoked. Every thing you do is unprovoked Lisa, I hope you get someone else to raise your hybrid children for you. Let's face it, you would be a fuck up as a mother" She smiled. "But I suppose you knew that with your first baby"

"Shut up Dana" Lisa snarled. Dana turned to us, grinning like a loon.

"Did you know, she got pregnant once?" Dana said. "Not only did she, but she got pregnant from fucking a nigger! Yes, my sister is such a whore she really would open her legs to anything. Not only that, but she wanted a mulatto to be a relative of mine. Well their was mercy" Dana turned back to Lisa. "Because you lost the baby, didn't you?"

I expected Lisa to grabbed her sister and break her neck. She didn't though. Instead, Lisa turned silently, and limped into the bathroom. She closed and locked the door, and we didn't hear a sound.

"Alright Dana, I've had enough" Louis said, standing up. "You've gotta go"

"I've gotta go, this is my room! I didn't ask for you freaks here"

"We will leave, when Lisa calms down" Louis said, walking over. He grabbed her arm. "But for now, you gotta go"

"Let go of me you damn ape"

"No Dana, you gotta go" He dragged the struggling woman over to the sliding glass doors that lead to the rooms balcony. Opening the doors, he dragged Dana out. He then tossed her over the balcony.

All of us, even Michael rushed over. With some disappointment, we watched Dana plummet sixteen stories and land in a swimming pool. Michael turned to Louis.

"Nice shot" Louis shrugged.

"Didn't know their was a pool down there"

* * *

Rush had had a bad morning, and being tossed by the sister of the object of his affection, had made it a bad afternoon. As he slowly struggled to all fours, he could see that Ms. Lisa was now in the room. She was sobbing into her hands. Rush walked over and pawed at her legs, causing her to look down.

"Hey Rush" Lisa whispered, bending down and scooping him up. "I didn't know you were here"

"Kip!" Lisa smiled.

"How would you like to hear a story? About when I was almost married, and almost champion? Are you interested?" Rush nodded. Lisa sighed, and began.


	50. Sins Past

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**L : Sins Past**

You know how I loathe giving over narrator rights, but I have to do it for this part of the story. Oh well, at least I'm not giving them to Louis (imagine what that chapter would sound like).

**Lisa**

I stared at the little Mudkip on my lap. He was so sweet, and I realized he was extremely intelligent. More so then several of my comrades (Louis). It's easier to talk to a pokemon then a human, much easier. When you talk to a human, the only thing they're thinking is _When is it my turn to talk?_ Pokemon listen to you, don't judge you, offer you sympathy.

I stroked Rush down his back, gently touching the scar on his tail fin. He noticeably cringed as I did, so I chose not to touch it again. I couldn't figure out how to begin my story, so I just sat there silently. Rush leaned up, and licked me across the nose.

"Thanks Rush" I whispered, "I guess I should start. It began when I was almost champion"

* * *

I wasn't actually born in Johto. I was born somewhere in Kanto, but we moved to Johto when I was six. I discovered pokemon training when I was eight, and I realized that was my destiny. To be a trainer, and a freaking great one at that. Except, I ran into obstacles from day one.

The earliest a person can become a trainer is on their tenth birthday. Even then, they have to have parental permission. Well my parents, heartless Nazi bastards they are, thought pokemon training was degrading. They said their was no glory in it (The two of them worked as faceless cogs in a large cooperation, yeah a lot of glory there). Well I waited until I was 13, and brought my first girlfriend home. They gave me permission the next day.

To screw me over one last time, my parents contacted Professor Something (the name escapes me), and told him not to give me my starter. He gave me my pokeballs, but not a pokemon. All because of those cock suckers. Well my starter had to be what ever I captured, and the first thing I captured (by accident) was a Lavitar. Destiny in the making. I named the Larvitar Dante, after my favorite poet. He didn't like me at first, but I suppose I grew on him. By the time we got to the first gym, he was okay with me.

Everyone, including me, soon discovered I had talent. Within a year I had gotten through all of the gyms, but I lost at the Johto conference (they finally get their own tournament, their own elite 4, outside of Kanto. What do they call their championship? The Johto conference!). I waited ten more years before going through the gyms again. Why? I'm not sure myself. I ended up doing several tournaments for money, and visiting other regions. Eventually I met Charlie, but I'll get to him later.

Well I eventually beat all of the gyms in Johto a second time, when I was 23. This time I won the conference, and got the chance to face the Elite 4. I beat the Elite four in eight days, and soon I was facing the champion.

* * *

Dante was panting, every breath labored. His rock body was covered in small burns, from where the champions Typhlosion had attacked it. I knew he wasn't going to last long, and I didn't know how much longer that damn Typhlosion would last.

"Hang on Dante" I called, "We're almost done" Dante nodded I think, but I wasn't sure. The stadium was hot that day, with no wind to cool me down. All of the people they're were either cheering for me, or against me, but it didn't matter. They were all distracting me.

"Explotaro, flame-wheel" The Typhlosion curled into a ball, that promptly erupted into flames. It then shot towards Dante.

"Good enough" I mumbled, "Dante! Dig" Dante disappeared under the ground, and Typhlosion missed him completely. Dante stayed down though, waiting until the flame-wheel ended. When Typhlosion finally uncurled, Dante made his move.

My Tyranitar exploded from the ground like a land mine, and grabbed Typhlosion. Before the thing could escape, Dante dragged it back under the ground. I pushed my glasses up nervously, anxious to see if every thing would work like I planned it had. Another explosion, and Typhlosion was forced out of the ground and into the air.

"Now, rock-throw!" Dante didn't need to be told twice. He began chucking boulder sized rocks straight at Typhlosion. One after another after another pummeled the creature in mid-air. Finally Dante could throw no more, and Typhlosion crashed into the ground. It twitched once, and passed out.

"Holy fuck" I cried, "I just won! Ha ha!" I screamed ecstatically, as I ran onto the field, jumping and grabbing Dante in a hug. Streamers exploded onto the field, as I kissed his rock muzzle, and he growled affectionately. "You kicked ass, and we won! Fuck we won!"

"Does the boy-friend of the winner get a kiss" Charlie asked. Charlie had been watching me, sitting on my bench on my side of the field. I dropped off Dante, and kissed Charlie. As I began to work the belt out of his pants, he whispered "Not in front of every one"

* * *

Charlie wasn't my boy-friend, he was my fiancée. We had met when I had just started revisiting the Johto gyms. When you're a professional trainer, you rarely have a chance for a personal life. All of the people you meet are either rich nit-wits, or fellow trainers. If you are a trainer, you never want to date a trainer, never bring your work home.

Well Charlie had worked for an advertising firm. The Johto league was trying to remake their public image, beginning with each of the gyms. Charlie was an unpaid intern at the firm when I met him. He, and two others (two people who were getting paid) traveled from gym to gym trying to help the leader change their gyms image. Idiots.

Charlie and I started dating when I realized he wasn't like any of the bubble heads I usually talked to. When I got to Blackthorn gym, he asked me to marry him. I agreed instantly. We decided that if I lost in the Johto conference, we would get married six months after that. If I became champion, we would wait another two years. That was the plan as he called it, the plan.

I remember Charlie fondly to this day. His arms, tender when they held me, strong if they needed to be. His skin the color of polished onyx, his body so perfect in my mind. He had the body you wanted to lick stuff off of, and he could rattle a bed like a category 8 earthquake.

Charlie had one thing that creeped people out. He had severe ocular, muscular, something something something. What it meant was Charlie had to wear a pair of glasses that looked like two magnifying glasses taped together. His eyes always looked about the size of bowling balls, no matter what he tried to do. Charlie had suggested I get laser eye surgery, but I refused out of sympathy. Of course he had also suggested I get dental work to correct very bad front teeth, and a nose job. He said it was so the rest of the world could see me like he saw me. I didn't care what the world thought though, not when I was with him.

I had yet to introduce him to my family, for obvious reasons, but I had told him about them. Charlie had suggested we invite them to the wedding when we had it. We could get married and they could stand across the street burning crosses, eating babies, sacrificing goats.

* * *

"I suppose our wedding date has been set" I said, after the celebration ended that day. It was almost two a.m., as we made our way back to my room in the stadium. Charlie had his own apartment in town. His run as an intern had ended, and he was now a junior copy something. Anyway, what it meant was he did a shit load of work and was barely paid a cent because his boss was a greedy shit.

"How does it feel to be champion?" I smiled.

"I'm not champion yet" I said, "I've still got a week before my ceremony. A lot can happen in a week"

"A lot can happen tonight" Charlie said, kissing me gently. A lot did happen that night, but I'm not going to describe it to you Rush. Anyways, after it was all over, Charlie basically passed out. I couldn't sleep though. I got out of bed, and stumbled to the bathroom. I then threw-up.

Staring at a toilet full of puke, I could no longer deny what I feared. I had been throwing up a lot lately, for the last three weeks. I had to know if my fears were correct. I exited my room, quiet not to wake Charlie, and went off to buy a pregnancy test.

* * *

"I'll be back this afternoon" Charlie whispered, kissing me on the shoulder as he got out of my bed. I barely acknowledged him as he left, even though I was wide awake. As soon as I heard the door open and close, I jumped out of the bed. Rushing to the bathroom, I pulled open the medicine cabinet and grabbed the pregnancy test I had bought the day before.

I had been feeling sick since before I got here, and I needed to know for sure. Was I pregnant? After taking the damn test (to disgusting to get into) I took one look, and all of my questions were answered.

"Oh fuck" I mumbled.

* * *

"Lisa" Charlie called, as he walked back into our room at the stadium. "I'm back, you said you had a big important announcement?" I was laying on the bed in the bed room. He came over, and stroked my arm. "You called me, what's the big news?" I smiled.

"I'm pregnant" I expected Charlie to explode with excitement. To take me in his arms, and take me right there. Instead, Charlie's face dropped like a stone in water. His hands began shaking like a paint-mixer.

"You're pregnant?" I nodded excitedly. "H-how? I mean, we used protection!"

"No we didn't" I said, "We thought about using protection, and chose not to. Largely because you couldn't get the wrapper open" Charlie stood up, and began pacing back and forth. "Is something wrong" His head jerked in my direction.

"Uh yeah! You being pregnant is not part of the plan!" Now, hindsight has shown that although Charlie was a great guy, and he loved me, he was a slightly psychotic control freak. His mind simply didn't work when life deviated from "the plan". "You can't be pregnant, I wont allow it"

"Uh, do I care if you allow it?" I asked crossly, "It doesn't matter if it doesn't follow the plan" Charlie shook his head rapidly.

"Needs to follow the plan" He said, "We're not even married yet" I shrugged.

"Okay, so we get married sooner then we thought. No harm, no foul" Charlie's look told me their was going to be a lot of harm. He looked deranged.

"Have you told any one yet?" I shook my head.

"No, of course not" that was a flat out lie. I called my family, since they were the only people I could think of calling. They told me they hoped my "mix-breed baby" choked on its own piss, and died.

"Good, no one knows. How are you going to be a mother, and champion of the Johto region?" I shrugged.

"Dunno, haven't really thought it out" I said, "But it doesn't matter, it's exciting. Isn't it?" Charlie shook his head rapidly.

"You can't be champion if you're pregnant!" He cried, "League rules prohibit it"

"I'll hide it" I replied. Okay, that would have been impossible, but I didn't care. I was so ecstatic, I couldn't think straight.

"No, you wont" Charlie cried. "Hiding the fact your pregnant? The champion of a region is a public figure. You're going to be hiding if from the league, and the entire region of Johto"

"What if I am?" I growled.

"You wont be able to!!!" Charlie yelled.

"Don't yell at me you fucker!" I screamed, jumping off of the bed. I regretted my words the moment they came out of my mouth. I didn't tell him that though. Charlie touched my arm gingerly.

"I'm not ready for this"' Charlie said. "You know you're not either. Look, I know of this clinic, completely anonymous" I brushed him off of me.

"I need some air" I whispered.

* * *

I stood on top of the stadium, having climbed up through a service entrance. I really wasn't supposed to be up there, but I needed air and I needed to be alone. At least, I needed to be away from people.

"Come on out Virgil" I mumbled, releasing one pokemon. The Zangoose appeared in front of me, no surprise on his face that he was called. When I caught Virgil, he hadn't had an emotion. Years later, I still hadn't seen one. I can't figure it. "Did I disturb you?" He shrugged, sort of. "I need some one to talk to, and it can't be a human. I hope you don't mind" Nothing. I sighed, and began.

Virgil listened to me for the next hour, as I ranted and raved about the fact I was pregnant, that Charlie wanted me to get an abortion, that I was about to become champion. I don't think I accomplished much, and I think I made Virgil uncomfortable.

"So, what should I do?" I asked.

"Zang" Good advice on his part. I sighed, and recalled him. I then kissed his pokeball. Standing up, I made my way back down the service entrance, and ended up back at my room. Some how, and I couldn't tell you how, I stumbled inside.

"Lisa!" Charlie exclaimed, running over to me.

"I've made up my mind" I said. "I want to be champion, I've wanted this my whole life. Call the clinic"

* * *

It only took 48 hours. The first day they brought me in, did blood work, made sure the procedure wouldn't kill me. The next day they called me back in and did it. They called it the procedure, trying to make it sound less horrible then it really was. They tried to remain indifferent. They succeeded, and I hated them for that.

On the ride back to the stadium after the "procedure" I felt empty. I had done this against my will, to the possibly living thing inside me. I wished the car would stop, so I could get out and throw up. Funny, they always debate about if the fetus is alive, they never ask about the woman carrying it. How she feels. Charlie put his arm around me.

"Don't!" I said suddenly, sharply. Charlie removed his arm, a little shocked. I continued to stare vacantly into space.

"You didn't do the wrong thing" He said to me, "They would never let you be champion if you were pregnant. Even if they did, we're not ready. We will be someday, but now. You being pregnant isn't part of the plan"

"Fuck the plan" I whispered, only loud enough for me to hear. "And fuck you" We rode the rest of the way in silence.

* * *

I didn't want to do anything but stay in bed. I did just that for the next three days, laying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Charlie and all of my pokemon tried to comfort me, but none of it worked. I just wanted to die at this point, just stay there and die.

"You're going to have to go to your ceremony" Charlie said, stroking my arm, "Where they crown you champion. You're going to have to" I nodded, but didn't reply. "Do you hate me?"

"How could I hate you" I whispered, "It was my choice" Charlie shrugged, and got off of the bed. I heard his footsteps as he left our room. My pokemon all (with the exception of Martial, my Wailord). They knew I was sad, but they couldn't do a thing to cheer me up.

_Did they have families? _I thought to myself, _Lives? When I captured them, did I take them willingly? No I didn't, I took them out of their homes, to battle against their will, for my own amusement._ Virgil, my most loyal pokemon, got on the bed with me. I looked at him for one second, before braking down sobbing.

I didn't stop the entire day.

* * *

"Why do they give you the prize money check before the actual ceremony?" I asked Charlie. He shrugged.

"Because you can't cash the big novelty check?" Charlie said. When I woke up that morning, he had been happy to see I was talkative again. That I was happy again. Well he was right, I was happy. The night before I decided that my life was empty and meaningless, and I knew what I was going to do about it.

At this moment, we were waiting in the preparation room in the stadium, waiting to be called into the arena for my ceremony. Right now, I was gathering up the nerve to put my plan into action.

_It's now or never_

"I have to go to the bathroom" I said, standing up. Unconsciously, I touched the pokeballs around my waist, making sure they were still fastened.. "If they call me, inform them where I am okay?"

"Okay, be quick" Charlie said sweetly. I smiled, and left the waiting room. Oh don't worry, I was going to be quick.

I had to act very quickly. They were soon going to start looking for me, and I needed to be gone. I figured out what I was going to do, when I remembered the bathroom in the stadium had a window. The window wasn't very big, but it was only a few feet off of the ground. I ran over to it, and tried to push it up. No go, I couldn't open it. The window was sealed shut.

"Sorry about this" I took off my left shoe, and used it to break the glass. I made sure their were no large shard sticking out, for when I climbed out. I took one look at myself in the mirror, before I climbed out. I hated what I saw.

_I'm hideous_ I thought. I removed my glasses for a second _Surgery to correct my vision. A better wardrobe, surgery to fix my nose, my teeth, my breasts. I could be beautiful._ I undid the ribbon I used to tie up my hair, letting it all fall down.

"Lisa?" Charlie called. Time to go. I pulled my engagement ring off and left it on the sink. I then climbed out the window.

"Good-bye old me"

* * *

Rush still looked as cheerful as he did when I began my story. He knew I was hurting, all he wanted was to make me feel better. Wonderful little creature.

"Kip?" I assumed he was asking if I felt better. I smiled to him.

"Yeah, I feel a lot better" Shakily, I stood up again. "Come on, let's rejoin the others"


	51. New Chu Order!

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LI : New Chu Order**

While Lisa was explaining her life story to Rush, the rest of us were stuck in Dana's hotel room. Dana had taken a one way journey off of her balcony, which had been (sadly) not fatal. Right now she was on her way to the hospital, nursing her broken nose. Michel and Louis were both staring at her, as Louis waited for Michael to sober up. Sharon and L3 were having a head butting contest, and neither was winning. Flash was watching Michael and Louis, ready to paralyze them should either of them try anything stupid. Enfer was off in her own little world. She was staring at Wisp, who was walking over to me, with a look of absolute hatred on her face.

"Uh, Eevee girl" I looked up at the Vulpix.

"Angel"

"Yes, thank you" Wisp said, "I wanted to know, the blonde woman"

"Your trainer"

"Yes, that" she said nervously, "Is she okay? I saw her crying, I was concerned" I gave her a look like she was crazy.

"You care? You actually care?" I asked in disbelief. "Better question, you have emotions? Shit, you're much better adjusted then her last pokemon"

"What happened to her last pokemon?" Wisp asked.

"A psycho in a rubber mask blew his head off" If that news unnerved her, she certainly didn't show it. "Why do you care?" Wisp shrugged.

"I don't like seeing people suffer. I'm not anti-social" Wisp replied. "The world is a terrible place, because pokemon and people embrace apathy. If someone is hurting, I want to help them" A Vulpix who is concerned about her trainer, while at the same time lacking any noticeable emotions. Strange.

"Well, wait until she gets out" I said, "Go comfort her then"

"Hey Angel" I looked down, to see Titan on the floor, looking at the Pichu Dana had had. I had forgotten all about the pathetic little thing. "This one is waking up" The little Pichu raised it's head, and looked around. I jumped down, and walked over to her, followed by Wisp.

"Where am I?" Pichu asked, "Where is copper-haired human?" Titan looked at me, and I shrugged.

"Copper-haired human?"

"The one who kept me in that infernal trap purse!" The Pichu ranted, jumping up, "The one who tried to keep Pecha down. I showed her though! No one can keep Pecha down!" Her eyes were bulging out of their sockets.

"Calm down" I said. She began to pant heavily. "How did you end up with Dana? I want to know?"

"Who is Dana?" Pecha asked.

"Copper-haired human" Titan replied.

"I ended up with copper-haired human when fat bald human captured me" Pecha replied. "Fat bald human captured me for copper-haired human, but she wanted an Iggly Buff. She said it would be cuter then me. No Buff is cuter then me!" She cried, thrusting her arm up. Dear God, she sounded like she was speaking at a political rally, and every time she ended a rant she posed. I don't get it.

"Why do you talk like that?" Wisp asked.

"Like what?

"Like you're speaking to an army, or delivering a speech. You're also ranting like a loon, you don't actual say anything, and you don't use names. You speak in circles, and but you want to talk about something"

"Glad you asked Vulpix" Pecha said.

"I didn't ask, and my name isn't"

"Gather around other pokemon" Pecha said. "Do you know about the world I envision?"

"Do we care?" I asked.

"Dana's jump looked like fun" Michael's voice cut through Pecha's psychosis. We all turned, to see Michael staring at the hotel pool. We watched as he began to climb over. We then watched as he jumped.

"SHIT!" Louis cried, jumping and grabbing Michael by the cuff of his shirt. When he jumped, Nel his Skitty, was knocked off. Moving back slowly, Louis was able to pull Michael back up. Michael was giggling like a psycho the entire time. Louis collapsed, panting. Michael laughed some more.

"So much fun!" He crackled, "Let's do it again!" Michael jumped, ran to the balcony, and was consumed by crackling electricity. He then fell on his back, arms frozen in mid-air. A few sparks shot off of his paralyzed body, and he laughed again before passing out.

"Sorry about that" Flash called, "Figured if Michael died, it would be terrible. Don't worry, he'll be fine, didn't hurt him much."

"Thanks Flash. Is their any way I could get you to fry Louis?"

"No chance in hell" I sighed.

"Thanks Flash" I called, returning my attention to Pecha. "You were saying" Pecha gave an overly dramatic sigh.

"I don't want much" Pecha replied. "Just peace, love, and the complete and total enslavement of the human race" There we go.

"You want to make slaves of humans?" Titan asked.

"Question and answer time will be reserved for after my speech" Pecha replied. "I wish for world peace, that only I can create. A one world government, with me as its head. New Chu Order!"

"Should I ask?" I whispered to Titan.

"Ladies first" I nodded.

"New chu order?" Pecha grinned.

"My government, ruled by me! The house of Chu would reign supreme, over all of the world. An enforced monarchy, to lead the planet!"

"What's an enforced monarchy?" Titan asked.

"A dictatorship" I replied.

"It's not a dictatorship!" Pecha yelled. Sorry, she was to cute to take seriously. "I would reign fairly. Absolutely in charge of course, but fairly! All hail Pecha!" Both me and Titan were fighting to hold back laughs. Wisp looked like she always did, carved out of wood.

"What would you do as ruler of the world?" I asked.

"First things first, I ban thunder stones" Pecha said, "Raichu suck. Pichu and Pikachu are all that is needed" Except Pichu are worthless in battle, and Pikachu look like yellow bags of flower with lightning bolts coming out of their asses. "Also, being human will be a crime"

"It's a crime?" I asked.

"Humans are freaks of nature" Pecha replied, "But we love them any way. So we're going to help them realize their full potential somehow"

"How about turn them into pokemon?" Titan asked. I smacked him (as best I could) on his iron helmet. "What?"

"Don't encourage her!" I cried. "The Pichu is psychotic, don't make her more crazy"

"Believe me, I couldn't do a thing to her" Titan said.

"The human cities will be left to rot" Pecha continued, "Their buildings will crumble, and their vehicles will rust. Their largest cities will be turned into prisons, to hold prisoners!"

"How the fuck would you do that?" I asked.

"Question me not!" Pecha continued. "I will lead us to our New Chu Order. A perfect world, with out pain and suffering, with out humans!" Pecha then, and I'm not making this up, bowed in front of us. "Question and answer time is now" I raised my foreleg. "Yes cursing Eevee"

"Why do you refer to us by our species?" I asked.

"You do not have a name until Pecha allows you to" Pecha replied, "To earn your name, pledge your allegiance to me"

"I'd rather dunk my head in acid" I mumbled. Titan gestured, and Pecha turned to him.

"Yes perverted Aron"

"How did she know?" Titan mumbled. "I was wondering if you would mind if I took you hard, right her, right now"

"Nothing would disgust me more" Pecha replied pleasantly. She was awful cheerful for a dictator in the making. "Any other? Mute Vulpix, any from you?" Wisp shook her head. "Great, now that question time is over, it's time for me to ask you a question. What can I do to get you to join my army? Pecha needs recruits"

"What would you offer us?" Wisp asked.

"Well, if you joined me" Pecha said, "You would each be given high places in my army, and be high ranking members of the New Chu Order! I promises you whatever continent you want"

"Eh, okay I'm in" Wisp said.

"Yay!" Pecha jumped up, and once again not making this up, did a back-flip. "I dub you Wisp the Vulpix. Now, who else will come?"

"I'm still not sure" Titan said, "I mean, being ruler of a continent is cool and all"

"You can mate with me once, and I decide when"

"Done!" Titan cried. He ran over, and began kissing her (as best you can with no lips) on her little yellow head. Pecha screamed, and pushed him off.

"It'll be sometime next year, when the thought doesn't make me puke" Pecha groaned. She then turned to me. "Okay cursing Eevee, your friends have agreed to join, how about you?"

"A, those aren't my friends" I said, "B, you've never convinced me. I find you entertaining, but you'll never take over the world. I will admit, it's a cute idea. No, you won't take over the world though" I turned to walk away.

"Uh, hold on Angel" I froze in mid-step. "Stay here subjects" Pecha ran over to me, as fast as her four legs would carry her. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something"

"I thought I was nameless Eevee" I said sarcastically. Pecha laughed nervously.

"I decided you deserved a name" Pecha replied, "And I need to know something. When copper-haired human was smacking me, I thought I was going to die. I was so afraid that no one would carry on the New Chu Order. I didn't want to die" Oh crap, was she going to start crying? I looked over to the hotel balcony, wondering if I took off running, could I clear the railing and make it over?

"Is it okay that I want to die right now?" I asked. Pecha blathered on though, not noticing how uncomfortable I was.

"Then suddenly she stopped hitting me! I was so confused, until I saw him! Like a blue blur of power, he saved me! The most brave, strong, intelligent, sexy Mudkip I had ever seen!" When someone is greeted with the phrase "sexy Mudkip", they'll react one of two ways. They either ignore the comment as the ramblings of a crazy person, or they react like I did.

I collapsed on the floor, laughing uncontrollably. Tears rolled down my muzzle, as I rolled around. I managed to pull my self back up again, took one look at Pecha, and broke down again.

"Quiet Eevee!" Pecha cried. She tried to use thundershock, but was so inept she ended up hitting her self. She fell on the ground, a little it of smoke coming off of her slightly fried body.

"How do you shock your self?"

"It's not easy" She replied. "Now, I need to know" Pecha grabbed me by the sides of my head. "What is his name?"

"I thought we didn't have a name until Pecha allowed us to have one" I replied. Pecha screamed in frustration, causing me to laugh again. "Just kidding, his name is Rush"

"Rush" Pecha replied, a dumb struck look on her face. "His name roles off the tongue, Rush. What does Rush like?"

"Annoying me" I said, "Sleeping, swimming, and Lisa Jeffries" Concern crossed the Pecha's face.

"Lisa Jeffries! That sounds like a human name. It can't be, my Rush would never be a humaphile" _Humaphile?_ "Who is this Lisa of which you speak? I must meet with my competition!"

"She's a human" I said, "Tall blonde, body looks like it was purchased from Barbie. She's completely crazy, which means the two of you will get along well" Pecha growled at this comment.

"Where is this human, I need to speak with her. If possible, eliminate her. No one stands between Pecha and her goals! I will rule the world, with Rush at my side as my queen"

"Don't you mean king?"

"No back sass Eevee" Pecha said. "Now I need to know where this Kip stealing whore of a human is, so that I can destroy her (Who talks like that?), please lead me to her" Suddenly the bathroom door opened. I grinned.

"You're in luck" I said, "She's right behind you" Pecha turned, and ran over to the open bathroom door. Wisp went over also, I guess she was concerned about Lisa. Speaking of which, Lisa emerged from the bathroom, cradling Rush in her arms. She saw Wisp and Pecha on the floor, and dropped down to greet them.

"Hey Wisp" Lisa whispered, stroking her head gently, "You were concerned about me? Thanks, you're the sweetest Vulpix I've ever met"

"Vul" Lisa turned to Pecha.

"I'm sorry about what my sister did to you" Lisa said, as she began to scratch Pecha behind her ears, "Please forgive her"

"This is war blonde bitch" Pecha said, "Or it will be, once this stops being enjoyable" Lisa stopped scratching, and sat Rush down on the floor. "Oh God, you're more handsome then I remembered" Rush completely ignore the swooning Pichu, and walked over to me.

"How did it go?" I asked. Rush smiled happily.

"I found out Lisa isn't what I thought she was. She isn't perfect, she isn't a goddess" He sighed, "And I love her more for it" Lisa walked over to Louis, who was currently smoking a joint while staring at Michael's collapsed body.

"Are you okay?" Louis asked. Lisa nodded, "Good, uh Michael's fine to. I discovered, he doesn't handle his booze well. Oh well, he shouldn't have gotten drunk I guess, but no one could have seen this coming, it's no ones fault"

"You gave him alcohol!" Louis shrugged. "Whatever, where's Dana?"

"She was annoying, so I threw her out the window"

"Seems fair" Lisa replied, "But now we've got her Pichu. Dana won't come back to get her, and if she tries, I wont let her take the sweet creature"

"I know what you're saying" Louis slurred, "And yeah, I agree to take in the Pichu, but I'm naming her L5"

"No" Lisa replied, "I'll take care of Pecha. Michael already has an electric type, and you're a moron" She turned to the scowling Pichu, "I'm sure she'll grow to love me" I had seen the look on Pecha's face when she first saw Lisa, and I knew that she would never love Lisa.

This would be war.


	52. The Vengence Song I

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LII : The Vengeance Song Pt. I**

Revenge is poison, and a poison everyone is susceptible to. It consumes you, dissolves you inside like acid. When it's finished with you, you no longer resemble the person you once were. Revenge exists only to hurt people and pokemon, not for any good.

Most people assume pokemon never want revenge. Humans though are blind to the world around them, they can't see the truth. Pokemon have dreams, wishes, they can feel pain and sorrow. They can want vengeance for what they've lost.

Now that I've waxed philosophical, I bet you're why in the fuck hell am I telling you this? Well, it began two days after we left Lavaridge.

* * *

Mt. Chimney sucks. I've already stated I really fucking hate it once, but guess what. Once you leave Lavaridge, it sucks even more! On the way to Lavaridge, the damn mountain acts like a beacon, signaling you've made it! You can stop traveling for five minutes.

On the way out though, the damn mountain laughs at you. You get to travel half-way across the damn country, to get your ass kicked by a psycho with a bad hair-cut and a queer ass son. On top of that, you begin your journey covered in ash. I hate that fucking mountain.

"And I hate all of this damn ash" I screamed. Flash sighed.

"I know you do" Flash said, "I don't understand why, the ash doesn't hurt you. Heck, it doesn't even effect me"

"You constantly fire off a small discharge of electricity frying the ash" I snarled, "Of course it doesn't effect you"

"Huh" Flash said, "Then I guess you wish you were a Jolteon" I shook my head.

"Hate those damn electric porcupines" I said. "Fast, and that's it"

"Just for the record" Flash said, "I think it would be good if you did evolve into Jolteon" I gave him a curious look.

"What the fuck do you care what I evolve into?" Flash grinned sheepishly.

"We've got a pool going as to what you evolve into. Evolutionary stones are plenty, and their have been stories of Eevee evolving into Glaceon and Leafeon outside of Sinnoh"

"You're making money off of my misery?!" I cried.

"If you evolve into a Jolteon I am"

"Fuck you" I mumbled, walking away from him. I moved over beside Titan, who was carrying Pecha on his back. "How is it going with queen chu?"

"Please kill me" Pecha was riding on Titan's back like Cleopatra. The entire time she was ranting, completely oblivious to the world around her.

"We will crush their cities and burn their bodies. All humans will bow down to us! Then I'll cut off the head of that Kip stealing whore and wear it like a medallion! Onward to victory!" She thrust her arms out happily.

"How's it going Pecha?" I asked sarcastically, "Conquer any countries today?"

"Speak to me not Eevee!" Pecha cried. Idiot. I sighed, and turned away from Titan. Rush was following on the heels of the Kip stealing whore, while Wisp rode on her shoulder. L3 was dancing in circle's around Louis, while Nel rode on his head hyperventilating. Sharon was, wait! I couldn't see Sharon.

"You're all covered in ash!" Sharon said stupidly, "I don't like it. Don't worry, all Gyarados know water gun"

"Sharon, please don't" Sharon used mud-slap. Why? Do I know what goes through that sun dried tomato she's trying to pass off as a brain? I sighed, and thanked her for the water gun.

I took one fast look behind my shoulder, to look at Enfer. She was silent and Sullen, had been for days now. I was assume Enfer was dead, except she was moving and sort of breathing. Why was she sad you ask? I had no idea, but she had been like this for two weeks, and I was getting sick of it. Enfer acted like a drain on our group, sucking all of the happiness in. Tonight would be the last night, I was going to get her to talk about it. I sighed, and returned our attention to the group. Lisa and Louis were having another one of their famous conversations.

"Iron Man or War Machine?"

"War Machine" Lisa replied, "I've always wondered what attachments he had" Michael mumbled something, as he buried his head in his hands.

"Is something wrong?" Louis asked. Michael looked up.

"Are you kidding me?! You two are discussing whether you would sleep with Iron Man or War Machine! Not to mention Louis, I'm still pissed at you for tricking me and giving me booze"

"I just wanted you to have some fun!" Louis protested. Michael sighed.

"I know you did, and I actually can respect that" Louis smiled at this, "But if you ever do it again, I'll twist those grapes you call testicles until they pop off" Louis gulped. "Can we please have a conversation where you two don't talk about which fictional characters you would have sex with" They both shrugged.

"Nervous about the next gym?" Lisa asked, "What does that scrap book say to do?"

"Get a fighting type, preferably Lucario, and pummel the shit out of Norman's pokemon" Michael said, "Simple strategy, and Norman's pokemon all boil down to a big crock of shit"

"Why Lucario?"

"Part steel, resistant to normal-type. Resistant to a lot actually" Michael said, "And can turn Norman's infamous Slaking into confetti. Something Angela made notes of, was Norman's strategy is non-existent. All he does is use his pokemon strength to overwhelm pokemon, and if they start to loose, he sends out a Blissy who can take so many hits you'll wanna pull your hair out"

"You don't have a fighting type!" Louis exclaimed. Genius at work.

"No Lou, I don't" Michael said, "I don't plan on getting one either. Titan is double resistant to them, and the rest are neutral"

"You know, being neutral is often enough" Lisa said, "Norman is a normal type trainer, he would know this. You know he's a bastard to beat, he won't be easy"

"I'm well aware" Michael said, "My main goal is to go there, not get my butt kicked, and some how by the grace of God win"

Yeah, that was his goal. My goal was to not have my little Eevee body broken into little pieces by a giant pissed off Slaking.

While we were walking through the ash coated mountain, someone was watching us. Directly above us was a small cliff, and sitting on it was an Ekans. It's tongue flicked in and out, tasting the air as we walked by.

"It iss them" The Ekans said, "Master Lecard will be mosst pleased with me" It turned its small body around, and slithered into a small hole in the side of the mountain. The hole lead to a large chamber, with several other exits any serpent good get through. The chamber was filled to the gills with Ekans and Seviper, two groups that usually would have nothing to do with each other. Today though, they were united in one goal. "Master Lecard, I return with good news"

"Is it them?" A dark voice asked the Ekans. Grinning, as only a snake can, the Ekans nodded.

"What will we do about them Master Lecard?" Slowly, a giant Arbok slithered forward. It was larger then most Arbok, but that wasn't what stood out about it. It's left eye was missing, all that was left was some puffy scar tissue and three vertical scars across it. Like something had clawed his eye out. The Arbok laughed.

"I have waited for this moment for a lifetime" He said, "And now that it is here, I almost can't believe it. Tonight my life's goal will be realized, and I will finally take my revenge upon that blasted Zangoose"

"Master, I didn't see the Zangoose there with them" Lecards head jerked up.

"What?"

"I didn't see the Zangoose, and we shouldn't attack if" Lecard rushed forward and head butted the Ekans with incredible force. The small snake was sent flying, and smashed against the rock wall of the chamber. It slid to the ground slowly, aching in pain.

"Are you standing against me?!" Lecard screamed. The Ekans pulled its self up to face Lecard.

"No, I'm saying we should wait for the Zangoose and not attack until he appears" Lecard shot out and bit down on the Ekans neck. When he let go, the Ekans collapsed to the ground, blood pouring out of holes in its neck. Lecard licked the blood off his fangs.

"We know the blonde woman captured him" Lecard snarled, "He would never abandon her. Where ever she is, he is there. We attack her, he will come"

"What about the people she's traveling with?" One of the group asked. Lecard laughed.

"I have waited for years for this moment. That Zangoose doesn't know I saw him get captured, he doesn't know I ended up on this continent. I'm not going to wait a day longer, we attack tonight. If the Zangoose and the woman are traveling with new people, we kill them as well"

* * *

Night couldn't have come soon enough. After several more hours of walking, I was completely covered in soot. So much so, that every time I blinked I sent up a little gray cloud of ash. On the plus side, I wasn't the only one coated for once. Pecha was also covered in ash. She had tried to do what Flash had done, but her sheer ineptitude caused her to shock herself into paralyses. On the plus side, it had shut her psychotic side, on the minus side… Well their really wasn't a minus side.

"I think we should stop for the night" Michael said, "We can no longer see where we're going, and now you two are discussing which historical figures you would sleep with"

"It's a legitimate conversation!" Lisa said, holding Wisp in her arms, stroking her.

"No it isn't!" Michael sighed. "What ever, we're stopping here" Setting up camp for us was easy. We no longer had sleeping bags, since Louis had traded our sleeping bags for a bottle of soda. The bottle was empty, but Louis didn't realize that when he traded. Dumbass.

Michael passed out almost immediately once we sat down. I would be exaughsted also if I had to deal with Louis. Louis pulled out a joint, only to be attacked by L3. The two rolled around, raining blows upon each other, fighting over the doobie. Nel tried to back away, but L3 pulls her into the melee. Finally, the three pass out on top of each other. Lisa went to sleep with Pecha laying on top of her (The future queen of the world not to dignified to use the Kip stealing whore as a bed). I waited until they were all unconscious, before climbing off of Michael.

I made my way over to the giant sleeping mass of Enfer. I nudged her away, and she jerked her head up, unsure of what was going on. She looked down at me.

"Angela, what do you want?"

"Get up Enfer" I whispered, "We have to talk"

"Later Angela" Enfer mumbled, putting her head back down. I tacked her, ending up flipping my self over and landing on my back. Enfer groaned, sitting up. "What is it?"

"Follow me" I said. I walked off slowly, followed by Enfer, getting as far away from the group as possible. When I thought we had gotten far enough away, I stopped.

"Alright, what did you want Angel?" I faced her, our eyes locking.

"Enfer, you have been fucking depressed for over two weeks now" I said, "Frankly, it pissess me the fuck off. I want to know, why are you so depressed" Enfer laughed at me.

"Angela, shut up" Enfer said, "You want to know why I'm depressed? It's none of your business. Yes I feel bad, yes I am working through something right now, but talking about it wont help. Talking about it makes it worse" I shook my head.

"Sorry, got to call bull shit Enfer. You and I both know talking about it will help you. When I found out you were my" The word froze in my throat. I tried to get it out, but no dice, "You know what. When I found out, did we just let it drop? Know, we discussed it, you told me everything that happened to you. I felt better, you felt better. Now tell me, why are you depressed?"

"It's a complicated issue" Enfer growled.

"No, it isn't"

"You wouldn't understand!"

"I would if you would stop making excuses!" I cried, "Just fucking tell me" Enfer looked at me, before braking down sobbing. "Oh boy, what did I do?"

"Not a thing, it's not your fault" She looked at me, tears streaming down her face. "It's Virgil. I kept thinking that he would come back to life, since both you and I did. But I've really begun to doubt it. Then, when Lisa captured Wisp, I knew. Virgil isn't coming back" Enfer went back to crying, and I was left to try to comfort a sobbing woman.

"I know he isn't coming back" I said, "I'm sorry he isn't, but even with him dead, life moves on" Enfer nodded.

"I know, but it's hard. Aside from you, I don't get along with any member of our group. Virgil kept me sane, and now he's dead. I needed him to lean on, but he isn't hear any more. What do I do?"

"You've still got me" I said. Enfer smiled.

"I know, I don't know what I did to deserve such a perfect daughter" Neither did I. "I know I couldn't always lean on Virgil, but having him here helped. We both had pain that let us bond"

"What was his pain?" I asked, now curious. Enfer gave a small laugh.

"Can't tell you Angela, I promised" She turned serious, "He wasn't perfect, and he trusted me enough to tell me the worst thing he ever did. I promised that I would never tell a soul"

"I understand, I guess" I said, "Ready to go back?" Enfer shook her head.

"Stay with me, I need to cry for a minute" I sighed, nodded, and Enfer broke down.

* * *

Lecard had waited patiently for the sun to come down, and now that it had he was wasting no time.

"The time has come!" Lecard yelled to his followers, "We attack now!" They cheered and emerged from the chamber on the side of the mountain. They began to slither down silently, ready to strike.


	53. The Vengence Song II

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LIII : The Vengeance Song Pt. II**

Titan was dreaming, the same dream he had every night. Him and Angel, together, in each others arms. He felt her soft fur in his hands (for some reason he had hands. Not human ones, they only had three fingers!), her soft lips on his tin skull. Then they fucked like rabbits.

For Titan, Angel was like a mountain. Tall, unmovable, and damn if she didn't make him hard. Some would say these were just signs that Titan had true feelings for Angel on a deeper level. Those people would be wrong, because Titan didn't have a deeper level. He wanted her though, in the worst of ways.

Like every night, Titan jerked awake moments before he scored in the dream. He looked around, to see where he was.

"Damn it" Sighing, Titan stood up and stretched his little metal body. Looking over to Michael, he noticed Angela was no longer there. Looking around the group, he could see Enfer was no longer there. "Where did they go? Do I honestly care?"

"You should care" A voice from behind him said. Titan looked back, to see Pecha sitting on him for the first time.

"How the hell did you get up there?"

"Quiet noble steed!" Pecha said, "Never you mind. I was awakened by noise, and not you humping the ground" Titan blushed under his tin mask.

"What did you hear?" Pecha shrugged.

"It sounded like rocks falling. I was afraid of being crushed to death, if I died, who would start my New Chu Order? There were no rocks though, nothing to harm me" Titan and Pecha both looked at the large mountain that stood in front of them. At first they saw nothing, but then they saw the mountain begin to move! Then hissing, like that of a snake. Pecha smacked Titan on his skull. "Carry me away noble steed"

"I would, but"

"Carry me now!" Pecha ranted. Kicking him in his side, Pecha got Titan to run away from the group. They got approximately nine feet away, when a large Seviper dropped in front of them.

"Hello beauties" Titan and Pecha gulped as the looked up at the large serpent.

"Awe shit" They said in unison.

* * *

Enfer was completely broken down, sobbing uncontrollably in front of me. I know she was sad about Virgil, but come on already. I don't think she noticed just how uncomfortable this was making me, or if she did she didn't care. Ugh.

"Okay, Enfer" I began, although she didn't notice. "Maybe you've cried enough, maybe it's time to go back to the group, maybe" One of her tears froze in mid-air, as she went stiff. "Maybe not Meowth is here, and he just froze time"

"Does my appearance her surprise you Angel?" Not Meowth asked from behind me.

"No, not really" Not Meowth snickered. Suddenly, he appeared in front of me, his nose touching mine.

"You have to get back to your group immediately. They are in danger. Although no harm will come to them right now, much harm will come if you don't get back there. Do you understand?" I nodded.

"Do you mind telling me what harm?" Not Meowth shrugged.

"It has to do with Virgil, and the story he told Enfer"

"What does it have to do with him, can you tell me?" Not Meowth vanished. "Of course not" Suddenly, Enfer came back to life, as if someone flipped a switch. She sobbed again, her tears dampening the bone dry ground. I jumped up and ran into her.

"Owe! Angela, what was the point of that?"

"As much as I love having you sit here and feel sorry for your self, we need to get back to the group" I said, "There in trouble"

"How do you"

"Not Meowth" I replied, "He warned me, and he said it had to do with Virgil. The story Virgil told you, I want you to tell me" Enfer bit her bottom lip.

"I can't, I promised"

"Damn it Enfer, people will die unless you tell me!" I screamed, "Now talk" Enfer sighed, nodded, and began.

* * *

Zangoose mate for life. I had never known that, even when we studied normal-type pokemon in school I missed that little factoid. Of course, during school I was writing my speech for when I was declared champion of the Hoenn pokemon league, so I tended to miss a lot of things.

Virgil had been in love once before. As amazing as the concept of Virgil with emotions is, the even more amazing concept is another pokemon in love with Virgil. A Zangoose named Mara. She had been kind, kind to all living creatures, unhappy that she had been born into the body of a hunter species. Mara never ate meat, eating only fruit, because she didn't want to harm another living creature.

For his part, Virgil required meat, he craved it. He was able to overcome his craving though, he did it for Mara. Before Virgil was captured by Lisa, he was a completely different Zangoose. Virgil was not a fighter by nature, but he would if he had to. All he had wanted for most of his life was companionship, something he hadn't had since both his parents were killed when he was young (but not at the same time). Virgil had been scarred by this, he buried his emotions inside. When he fell for Mara though, he fell hard.

His façade of toughness shattered in a heart beat. Virgil became open, happy about his life. He smiled, laughed, joked, and was up-beat and happy. Nothing like the Zangoose I came to know and be scared shitless of. Now, although it was great that Virgil had basically been revived by Mara, their was a dark-side to this. Seeing as Mara was what was keeping Virgil sane, he was completely dependent on her. If something happened to her, he would be destroyed. As you can guess though, something did happen to her.

* * *

"The Zangoose is not among them" One of the Seviper told Lecard, "And I have been informed that several of the number are missing"

"Where did you get this information?" Lecard hissed. Seviper jerked his head back, gesturing to two Ekans behind him. They parted to reveal Pecha and Titan. Titan was trembling so hard his entire metal body was clanging. Pecha sat on his back, not looking scared, but rather dignified. Her head was healed high, and one of her tiny arms was crossed across her chest. You would have thought she was posing for a picture, not being held hostage.

"I give up no members of my new Chu order!" Pecha said, "But they are not of my order, strip their bones of all flesh" Titan groaned.

"They claim the Zangoose it dead" Seviper growled, "And the Pichu claims to have never met him!" Lecard mumbled something, nodding in response. "I believe they are telling the truth, and we should back off"

"Of course their not telling the truth" Lecard snarled, "They want to keep their friend safe right? Do they admit to knowing him? No, they say he's dead and we never look for him. The Zangoose will have to come back eventually, until then have the others wait by the group of humans. Do not wake them up, they will fight back"

"How do you know we'll be able to take him?" Seviper asked, "And the humans with out them killing us"

"Theirs eight of us and one of him"

"Seven of us" Seviper replied, "You took out one of us" Lecard looked the Seviper straight in the eye.

"Do you want it to be six?" Lecard asked in an icy voice. Seviper gulped, and dropped back. "That's better. You and the others will watch the group until the Zangoose returns. Then you will return to me, and inform me it's time. We'll attack before they have the chance to retaliate, and eliminate them all in one fast blitz, understood?" Seviper nodded. "Then get the hell out of my sight"

Sharon had been having the dream again. In front of her was the largest, shiniest thing ever made ever! She needed to gnaw on it in the worst of way. When Sharon ran towards it though, it pulled back. She ran faster, it moved away. She jumped, and it jumped back. She felt the tears come.

"Shiiiiiny!" Sharon cried, jerking awake. It was dark, no movement, no shiny. No fair. Sharon looked around, looking for Titan, needed to chew on his skull. He wouldn't mind, he was shiny. Off in the distance, behind their group, she could see something. Tall and tube like, it was staring back at Sharon. She couldn't tell if they noticed the little Gyarados, so their was only one way to find out. Sharon stood up and clopped over there. As she got closer, she could see their was four of them, all Ekans, and they were asleep. Sharon nudged one of them awake. He looked around, then down at her.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Let's play!" Sharon cried, jumping and biting one of the Ekans in the neck.

* * *

The day of the greatest tragedy in Virgil's life was sunny. Virgil remembered that better then anything else, how sunny it was. A gentle breeze brushing across his and Mara's fur woke them up. Virgil cracked his eyes open slowly. Yawning, he nudged Mara awake. She looked over at him, and smiled.

"Morning" Mara yawned, stretching her small body against the wooden tree branch the two of them had slept on.

"Good morning" Virgil said, "Are you hungry?" Mara opened her mouth to answer, but her stomach grumbled, answering the question for her. "I found some of the most amazing berries, yesterday, what do you say we go get some?"

"That would be wonderful" Mara said, standing up. Virgil stood up and ran to the edge of the branch. He jumped and landed on another branch on another tree, followed closely behind by Mara. They traveled branch to branch, tree to tree, each time barely but somehow making each jump. The two mocked those who had to walk on the ground, traveling this way was so much faster.

The tree with the berries was over two hundred feet tall, towering over all others in the forest. It was unusual in that the only branches on it were on the very top, a good forty feet above where Mara and Virgil were now. They jumped, and if you think they made the jump my dear listener, you've got rocks for brains.

They hit the tree and used their claws to grip. After that, it was a simple matter of climbing to the top and grabbing the several large, gold berries. Virgil placed one on the end of each of his claws and fed them to Mara. When she bit into a berry, it would burst with heavy juice, dribbling down her chin. She licked up each drop, the berries having a rich and unusual taste.

"It's the best thing you've ever tasted, isn't it?" Virgil asked. Mara nodded.

"It's delicious" Mara whispered, "How did you find it?"

"Got lucky" Virgil said, grinning. "Came here to get away from a trainer try to catch me. Young boy, didn't look like he had a brain in his head" Mara bit off another one, catching a drop with her tongue.

"Why are their so many trainers suddenly?" Mara asked, "It makes no sense. Even more, why are they trying to capture us? What did we ever do to them? Humans making pokemon battle is barbaric anyways"

"I hope I never get captured" Virgil said. "I don't think I would enjoy that life. We've got everything we need here, we live in paradise" Mara smiled.

"Awe, how sweet" A cold voice said. Mara and Virgil both jumped up, to see a large Arbok balancing its body on the branches behind them. Its tail was twirled around several, keeping it up right. "Living in paradise"

"Who are you?" Virgil asked. The Arbok began to slither foreword, somehow able to keep its large body balanced on the branches.

"One problem" It growled, "This is my tree, and I want you to get the fuck off" Virgil looked at Mara.

"Get behind me" She nodded, and moved behind the Zangoose. The two of the moved back on the branch, as the Arbok pulled its body onto the single branch. It was able to balance with ease, suggesting a lot of experience with this tree.

"I'll make you a deal" The Arbok snarled, "Get the fuck out of my tree, and I wont kill you, deal?" It moved foreword, they moved back a step.

"All we wanted were berries!" Virgil protested, "We'll get off when we feel like it!"

"No, you'll go now" The Arbok lunged foreword, it's lower body wrapped around the tree branch to keep it from falling off. Virgil and Mara jumped far back to keep from being hurt. Virgil landed on branch, Mara didn't.

"Aaaaaaaaaaah" Mara screamed, as she plummeted towards the ground. She positioned her body over a branch, ready to land. She miscalculated though, and only her head hit the branch, breaking her neck. Mara's limp body then fell to the ground.

Virgil stared at her, her broken unmoving body. The Arbok had gone from purple, to white.

"Oh I, I'm sorry" Arbok stammered. Slowly, Virgil's senses returned to him, and he felt on thing. Rage, pure simple rage. He jumped back around, ready to kill the Arbok, have it's blood flow through his fur. But the Arbok had vanished into thin air. Virgil jumped from branch to branch, scanning the ground as he did, looking for the giant snake. The Arbok was gone though, and Virgil was alone.

* * *

Enfer and I rushed back to the group, to see every one was okay! A quick scan of the group revealed three missing members.

"Titans gone" I whispered to Enfer, "As is Sharon and Pecha. Where are they"

"Uh, Angel" Enfer gestured off in the distance. I could see four large lumps, and one small lump jumping up and down. Enfer and I sighed, and ran over.

"Gyarados 4, snakey 0!" Sharon chanted, "If you wake up my friends, I'll eat you"

"Yes ma'am" The four said in unison. Sharon saw us, and smiled.

"Guys, look what I did!" All we could do was stare.

"Sharon?" I asked, "Where are Pecha and Titan?"

"They said their back there" Sharon gestured behind her. She looked down at the Ekans. "You lead us snakey"

"Yes ma'am" They said in unison. Sharon, still smiling, got off of the Ekans. They got up slowly, and began slithering off in the other direction. Enfer looked at me.

"Ready?" I nodded. "Then let's kick some snake ass"


	54. The Vengence Song III

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LIV : The Vengeance Song III**

Sharon rode on the backs of her four "snakey" as we headed foreword to who ever the hell was doing this. Why were they doing this? Well, I had a pretty good idea, but more on that later. Enfer seemed a bit unnerved to be lead by four Ekans and an insane Trapinch. I wasn't bothered, I called it life. Sad isn't it?

"I'll name you Sharpedo" Sharon said to one of the Ekans, "Because you really seem like one" She turned to another of the four Ekans. "I'll name you Trapinch, because you remind me of one" I shook my head at this. "Now tell me Trapinch, how far are we from where you're taking us?"

"Right around that bend" The poor Ekans/Trapinch said, gesturing ahead. Sharon rubbed against the back of its neck.

"Good snakey" Sharon said, kissing it. The left side of the narrow trail was met by a large rock wall. The right side was a two hundred foot drop onto several jagged rocks. This entire mountain is maintained by the Hoenn Government Environmental Division, who are to fucking dumb to put up railing to stop people from falling! If people that dumb maintain parks, it makes you worry about the ones who run the government.

I had to press my tiny body against Enfer as we moved around the bend, afraid of falling off. The four snakes were by now shaking, scared to death of what ever they were about to face. We made it around the narrow bend, and came face to face with…

"Absolutely no one!" I screamed. We were standing on a large cliff that ended in another bend around the mountain. Nothing else was here though, no enemy who wanted to kill us. I ran to the edge of the cliff, followed by Enfer and the idiot bragged, and looked over. If the mountain did the job for us, I could go back to bed.

"Greetings friends of the Zangoose" A new voice said. We all turned around, to see a large Arbok, two Ekans, and a Seviper. They had appeared like magic, from the mountain I was willing to bet. The two Ekans and the Seviper didn't draw my attention. No, the Arbok was what interested me. It didn't have a left eye. Rather, it had a puff pink mash of tissue, with three vertical scars slashed across it. "When my servant said he saw a Trapinch attacking my soldiers, I thought he was insane"

"I'm a Gyarados!" Sharon yelled, interrupting him. The Arbok laughed. Enfer stepped foreword, the four Ekans parting to let her through. She looked him in the eye.

"I know who you are" Enfer snarled. "Virgil is dead you bastard. Two of our friends are missing, we want them back" The Arbok turned to the two Ekans and nodded. They moved out of the way, and Titan came running to us, Pecha straddled to his back.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this" I mumbled, "Titan, thank God you're okay"

"What about me?" Pecha asked. I looked at her, then turned to the Arbok.

"The Pichu isn't our friend, rip her to shreds" Pecha smacked me upside the head. Lousy electric bitch.

"We're going to leave now" Enfer said "Follow us, and I'll kill you" Enfer turned to leave, but the Arbok dashed (which was very amazing considering that he had no legs) in front of her.

"You're not leave" The Arbok said, "I want revenge. Just because the Zangoose isn't here, doesn't mean we wont kill you"

"Virgil is dead you asshole"

"I don't believe you" The Arbok grinned. "You're hiding him. All this means is I have to beat the information out of you" With that, he lunged at Enfer.

* * *

Virgil wasn't a fighter. He defended himself and Mara, but that was as far as his fighting skills went. He wasn't very strong, strong enough to survive. Strong enough to kill though? No, of course not.

Virgil's claws had been dulled after years with out use. As far as Zangoose go, he was slow as dirt. When he jumped from tree to tree, it was far from silent, rather sounding like a rock hitting the branch. If he was going to kill the Arbok who killed Mara, he would have to train.

Train he did. Fueled by rage and vengeance, he trained day and night. Breaking rocks with his claws, moving from tree to tree in a fraction of a second, fighting and wining against foes much stronger then him. It took a year for him to be able to do these things. The first time Virgil beat a pokemon who was bigger and "stronger" then him, he beat an Ursaring. The bear pokemon slashed Virgil to ribbons, but Virgil knocked it out and walked away in one piece.

After a year, it was finally time. His rage had not dimmed the slightest bit. The face of that Arbok had haunted his nightmares. After this though their would be no more nightmares. Virgil would finally be able to rest easily at night, no more dreams of Mara. Of saving her, not watching her die. No time to think of that, vengeance now.

It was best to attack was not at night, but in early twilight, when they would not be expecting. The snake would be barely awake, perfect time for Virgil. Now when Virgil leapt through the trees, the branches didn't shake. Not a sound could be heard, no vibrations in the air. His claws were sharp enough to rend steel, and he was strong enough to lift pokemon three times his size. He was ready to kill.

The tree had not changed a bit. It still towered over the forest, untouched by time and the elements. The Arbok was still there, Virgil had checked in occasionally. He would watch the tree until the giant snake appeared on the top. As for how the snake had ended up there, the inside of the tree was hollow. Their were two large holes in its trunk, one at the very top and one at the very bottom. Their were probably groves running along the inside of the trunk, allowing the snakes to slither up and down it.

The sun had only just begun to peak across the horizon when Virgil landed on the branch of the giant tree. Now he could easily make the twenty foot jump straight up, no effort required. He silently moved along the branches running around the tree, pausing at a grouping of golden fruit.

"I'm so sorry Mara" He whispered, plucking one of the berries. He only stared at it a second, before grinding it into pulp with his claws. "This one is for you" Virgil continued on until he reached the hole. He leapt into it, arms extended, and hit the inside of the trunk. Claws dug in, he held himself far above the ground and looked down.

After first Virgil thought his eyes had deceived him, because he saw two of them! Two Arbok asleep on the bottom, backs turned to him. Virgil wasn't crazy though, the Arbok had a mate. The thought nearly caused him to loose his grip.

The Arbok had taken away the one Virgil loved, more then life its self. How dare he find happiness, who the fuck did he think he was?! He ruined Virgil's life, it was time to end his. Virgil slowly began to climb down, until he was a few feet above them. Virgil could see a third, smaller body among the pile, but ignored this.

"Greetings murderer" Virgil snarled. The two Arbok were awakened by this, looking up confused. Blinking slowly, the male Arbok looked up to see Virgil.

"Wha? Who are you?" Virgil laughed at this.

"You don't remember? You don't fucking remember?!" Virgil screamed, as his arm lashed out. He slashed the Arbok across the face, drawing heavy blood and causing the male to scream. This cause the female Arbok, and the third snake (which Virgil identified as a small Ekans) to jump up. Virgil was almost foaming at the mouth, as he dropped onto the ground.

"Get out of here" The male yelled to the female, "Save Lecard" The female nodded, she and her offspring got the hell out of there. The male and Virgil began circling each other in the narrow space.

"I waited a year for his moment, and I plan to savor every moment of it" Virgil growled, jumping at the Arbok. The Arbok coiled back and Virgil sailed over it. He hit the wall, and used it to lunge at the giant snake a second time. The Arbok head butted Virgil, knocking him into the ground. Virgil stood up still laughing like a loon. He wiped blood off of his chin.

"I remember you" The Arbok said, "And I'm sorry. You can't blame me though, your mate's death was an accident" Virgil screamed a primal scream, and stabbed the snake right below his head. The Arbok cried out in agony, falling on his side.

"I will have vengeance" Virgil snarled.

"Please don't"

"Vengeance" Virgil plunged both of his claws under the Arbok's chin, causing it's blood to pour out every where. The great snake coughed one last time, and died. Virgil was not done yet though. He jumped out the hole on the bottom of the trunk.

The female Arbok evidently wasn't as fast as her male counterpart, as she had only gotten a few feet from the tree. Her son slithered ahead of her, both of them running for their lives. Virgil wasn't about to have that. He leapt through the air, and landed on the female Arbok's back, stopping her and her son. The small Ekans, Lecards looked at Virgil, pleading.

"Why are you doing this?" The female cried. Virgil plunged his claws into her, almost ripping her head off. She dropped to the ground, a victim of an accident she had nothing to do with. Virgil licked the blood off of his claws, as he turned to the trembling Ekans.

"Vengeance" Virgil snarled, jumping at the snake. The Ekans though did something completely unexpected and spit acid right in Virgil's eyes. "Aaaauuuugh!" Virgil screamed, as he fell on the ground, rolling around in pain. Slowly, he opened his eyes, knowing they were bleeding. He could see, but it hurt to look. Every thing was distorted and out of focus. He slashed, hitting the Ekans across the left eye.

"Aaauuh" Now the Ekans was bleeding, but it had no hands to hold over its eye. All it could do was watch as Virgil slowly approached, ready to kill. He held up his claws. Nothing happened though.

Virgil didn't see this Ekans as an attachment of the Arbok that stole his Mara away. All he saw was a trembling pokemon, who had lost both of its parents. Whose parents Virgil had stolen away. Virgil's arms dropped to his side.

"Sorry" He whispered to the Ekans. With out another word, he leapt into the trees. He jumped until his legs ached, until his eyes stopped bleeding. Virgil still couldn't open his eyes. The light burned, blurring out the entire world. He finally collapsed against a tree, so tired and so empty. He was so tired, he didn't even hear the footsteps at first.

"Hello, what do we have here?" Virgil cracked his eyes open as small as they would go, but even that was to much. A shadow covered him, caused by a human girl.

She must have been about fourteen, but Virgil honestly had no idea. She was tall, and had blonde hair tied back in a pony tail. She was wearing glasses, mud spattered clothing, and was carrying a bag. As she looked him up and down, Virgil could see concern on her face. "You don't look so good"

"It's not like you're the picture of beauty" Virgil muttered. The girl dropped down to the ground in front of Virgil. She pulled a yellow spray-bottle from her bag. Before Virgil could stop her, she sprayed him in his burned face and swollen eyes. He should have screamed, since it stung so badly. He couldn't though, he had screamed enough.

"That should make you feel better" The girl said. Since her shadow no longer covered him, Virgil had to close his eyes. "Open your eyes please" Virgil ignored him, so the girl gently touched the area around his eyes. The pain caused his eyes to shoot open, but the pain of the light caused them to close again. "It's the light isn't it? The light hurts you?"

"Zang" Virgil muttered. He heard the girl rummage through her bag, and pull out something she placed across his face.

"Open your eyes" Virgil shook his head. "Please open them" Figuring, it would get her to shut up, he opened them slowly. He could see! His eyes still hurt, but the light didn't feel like it was burning into his skull. In fact, every thing seemed darker.

"What happened?" The girl smiled.

"Like that don't you? Sunglasses are great, and they make you look kick ass" She said. "I hope that helps" She stood up, and turned to leave. For a moment, Virgil was stunned, since he had believed humans were mindless monsters that captured pokemon for their own sick amusement. This one though, she hadn't tried to capture him. She was obviously a trainer, by those balls around her waist. Virgil turned to look at the forest for a moment. It held nothing for him anymore, all it did was remind him of Mara. He jumped up, and sprinted to the girl.

"Zangoose!" She looked back, to see Virgil.

"Yes?" He pointed at the pokeballs around her waist. "What, you want to come with me?" Virgil nodded. "You know what a pokeball is?!" He grinned. "Are you sure" He nodded, no hesitation. The girl pulled off one of the pokeballs, evidently empty, and tossed it at the Zangoose. Getting pulled into the ball was a thousand times more painful then Virgil imagined, but it was nothing compared to what he had been through that day. In an instant, he had reappeared in front of the girl, who was crouching again.

"I'm Lisa" She said, extending her hand. Virgil knew enough about humans to shake it. "You need a name though, something fitting for a Zangoose" Lisa closed her eyes as she thought, thinking only for a second. "How about Virgil? It's beautiful, and it just sounds awesome"

"I like it" Virgil said.

"Virgil it is" Lisa respond, standing up. "Come on, lets get out of here"

* * *

The monsters Arbok in front of us was Lecard, the Ekans from so long ago. He had been created by rage, and fueled by revenge. Lecard had become a monster, but a monster Virgil had created by murdering his parents. As he lunged at Enfer, she leapt back and he slammed into the ground. All he earned for his effort was a mouth full of dirt.

While the two of them battled, the two Ekans Lecard had had guarding Pecha and Titan came foreword. The two looked mean, and ready to fight me until they died. As I formed a shadow ball, Titan and Sharon walked in front of me.

"Uh, guys?"

"I'm going to kick your ass" Titan snarled.

"New snakey friend!" Sharon giggled.

"What about Pecha?" Behind me, the Pichu was talking to the four Ekans.

"And after we burn down the pokemon league head quarters, we march on the capital" Pecha said.

"Sounds good, tell us more" They said. Shrugging, I retracted the shadow ball. As Titan and Sharon rushed, I looked at the Seviper.

"You want to have a go?"

"Fuck it, nothings worth this" The Seviper turned tale and ran. I've never seen something run without legs since. With him gone, I was able to observe the various battles.

Lecard weaved back and forth, shooting acid that Enfer would meet with a fireball. He tried to bite her, but Enfer beat him to the punch, biting him the body. She lifted Lecard off the ground, and swung him against the rock wall, hitting him until his head bled. Before she could set him down, his tail struck out, and wrapped around her mid-section.

I turned from those two, instead turning to Titan and Sharon. I saw the two of them vanish under the ground, using dig at the same time. The two Ekans looked around nervously, but they never really stood a chance. A pair of small metal legs and a Trapinch skull popped out of the ground. They grabbed the Ekans and sucked them under. I waited patiently, until a loud explosion signaled the end for the two snakes. They hit the ground hard, both unconscious. Titan and Sharon both climbed out of the ground slowly.

"I feel funny" Sharon mumbled.

"You beat them" I observed. Titan grinned, as best you can with no visible mouth.

"They weren't that hard. You underestimate how strong" Titan began to glow bright white. Awe shit.

His small outline grew bigger, as spines appeared on his back. I could see his peg legs grow small digits, and his armor thicken. When the glowing faded, Titan the Aron was gone. In his place was Titan the Lairon, who had a fucking mouth.

"Fuck" I mumbled. Titan looked himself over.

"Did I just evolve?" He asked, in a much deeper voice. I nodded. Titan exploded. "I evolved, I evolved! I'm strong! That idiot Trapinch can't bite me any more!" Behind us, Sharon also began glowing. "I'm free of that moronic Trapinch, free! Free!"

"Yeah, but you're not free of that idiot Vibrava" I said, bursting his bubble.

"What?" The glowing faded, and Sharon gave her new wings a flutter.

"I'm not Gyarados?" She asked. "I evolved….Into Super Gyarados!" Moron. Now, even a small dragon-type like Vibrava is psychotically strong. That's what allowed Sharon to flutter (sort of, she barely got off the ground) over to Titan and land on his back. Fluttering again, she grabbed his sides and lifted him up like he was made of paper. "I'm super strong"

"COME ON!" Titan screamed.

"Quiet shiny" Sharon said, setting down on the ground. She then began to nibble on the new spine on his head.

Lecard was loosing. Enfer had unwrapped herself, by firing an all consuming flame-thrower on his head. Burns covered his entire body, and he was swaying back and foreword slowly. He opened his mouth and fired of a bunch of poison sting needles. Do to his exhaustion though, they fell straight down harmlessly. Enfer jumped and head butted the Arbok, slamming him into the rock wall. Lecard collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"What a waist" Enfer mumbled, turning and coming back over to us. She took one look at Titan and Sharon. "Oh shit"

"High scary dog thing!" Sharon chirped happily.

"Shut up Sharon" Titan moaned. Enfer turned to me, trying to ignore them.

"We should head back, where's Pecha?" I gestured.

"I induct you into the New Chu Order!" Pecha declared, waving her arms about like a jackass. "Now go take Lavaridge!"

"Charge!" The four Ekans cheered, slithering away. As Pecha watched them a tear almost appeared in her eye.

"They're going to be alright"

"No they're not" I said. It had been a long night, and the sun wasn't going to rise yet. We took one last look at Lecard, broken and still enraged.

"Please kill me" He whispered.

"No" Enfer's only reply. As he sobbed, we headed off. Not even Pecha spoke as we arrived back at our groups. I climbed onto Michael's chest and passed out, as I felt Sharon flutter down beside me. We would have a long day tomorrow as well, and Michael would have to deal with his newly evolved pokemon. As I felt sleep overtake me, I thought about the events that had just occurred.

It was to much of a coincidence that Lecard would show up in Hoenn, after Virgil was dead, and just happen to come across a group of Virgil's friends. Shrugging, I figured it must have been nothing.

I was wrong though. Standing far above us, two figures were starring, one through a pair of night vision goggles.

"Do you have all you need?" Not Milotic asked. Tagger nodded.

"I'll still need to see Angela in battle, but yes" Tagger said, "I have what I need. Soon it will be time for me to break them"


	55. Mansion From Hell

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help**

**LV : Mansion from Hell**

Michael awoke after one of the better nights he had had sleeping on the ground, to the sight of a large dragon fly on his chest.

"Daddy!" Sharon cried happily.

"Aaaaaaaaaaah" Michael screamed, jumping back and knocking all of us off his chest and onto the ground (except Sharon who could fly, lucky draconic bitch). "S-Sharon?" Sharon fluttered over and landed on Michael's head. Lisa and Louis looked up woozily, unsure who screamed. Rush had been tossed onto his skull, but slept like nothing happened.

"Yeah yeah, she evolved" Titan grumbled, sitting up and walking over to Michael. Michael took one look at the Lairon, his eyes bulging out. "I did also! Did ya notice me?" Michael collapsed. "Awe shit, I did this didn't I?"

"I've never heard of two cases of spontaneous evolution" Lisa said, "Especially two that happened at the same time"

"I got four new recruits!" Pecha cried, "No one cares about that!" Pecha turned to Lisa, who was holding the squirming Pichu in her arms. "And you!" Pecha cried, pointing. "You don't want my New Chu Order to get off the ground, you want it to fail you Kip stealing whore. You stole Rush from me, you stole my thunder, I will have my" Lisa scratched the little Pichu behind the ears. "Damn you" Pecha said, sighing contently.

"'tI?" L3 asked. I fired a shadow ball at L3, which sent her flying. She landed on her head, and passed out.

"Wait, normal-type are immune to ghost-type shit" I said. I moved over to L3 and kicked her twice. "Eh, don't rock the boat"

"So why did they evolve?" Louis asked. "I'm betting aliens, no magic, no wait! Magical aliens did it!"

"How do you manage to breath?" Lisa asked. Louis shrugged, then went back to sucking down vodka.

"So how did they evolve?" Flash asked.

"I dunno, take a guess"

"Insane Arbok bent on revenge based on crimes that had been committed against him in the past by a member of our group, my guess is Virgil" I stared at him, open mouthed. "Just a guess though"

"You're good" I said. "Let me guess, you woke up and followed us there?"

"I'm five feet tall, and clop around like a Ponyta. How the hell did you not notice me?"

"Better question, why did you help?" Flash closed his mouth at this. Lousy sage-like bastard. Michael had finally stopped freaking out, and picked up Sharon who had landed on his leg. He stroked her large, dragon-fly wings and she cooed.

"What scares me is" Michael said, "Of all the weird things that have happened to us, this one is somewhere in the middle" Wisp, who had been asleep on Lisa's shoulder, suddenly jerked awake. She looked down at Sharon and Titan, then turned to Pecha.

"They evolve?"

"Pecha will rule all, and Rush will sit beside her, as her queen!" Wisp turned to me.

"They evolve?"

"Yeah"

"Cool" Wisp went back to sleep. A girl of many words that one. Rush hadn't seen Titan and Sharon yet, so I walked over, and tried kicking him awake.

"Go away" Rush mumbled.

"Titan and Sharon evolved"

"Uh huh" He muttered. I sighed.

"Lisa evolved" Suddenly, he jumped to life like someone had thunder shocked him.

"Lisa evolved? I'm so happy she" Suddenly, the realization of that statement hit him. "Wait a second, she's human. That doesn't make any sense"

"Hey Rush, look at me now" Titan said, clanking over (he really does clank when he walks now, it's a little disturbing). "I'm bigger and stronger then you" Rush fired one water gun. Titan went down like a house of cards.

"As strange as this is" Michael said, "We need to get off this mountain if we're going to make any progress today. Wake up Enfer, and let's go" Louis nodded. He walked over to the sleeping Arcanine, and began stroking her.

"Enfer, wake up honey" Louis said. Enfer opened her eyes, but couldn't move the rest of her body. I watched her squirm, but nothing happened. Louis plucked something small and pointed from her fur. "Hey Michael, what's this?" He held up part of a tooth, that looked like it had been broken off of a fang. A large fang of an Arbok.

"Awe fuck"

* * *

Our three hundred pound, fire-breathing hell puppy had been poisoned. Since she was so tired yesterday, she hadn't noticed. Now, Enfer was completely zapped of energy, and Michael, Lisa, and Louis got to lug her on their shoulders down the mountain.

"I don't get why you don't have any antidotes dude" Louis said, "That's just not a good idea"

"I did have antidotes" Michael snarled, "But if you remember correctly, someone figured out how to boil my antidotes and get ultra high off of the fumes"

"How are you not a scientist?" Lisa asked.

"So where are we going then?" Louis asked, "Because Lavaridge is in the opposite direction"

"Okay, for the tenth time" Michael said, struggling under the weight of Enfer's midsection (They gave their shortest member the heavyset part of Enfer to balance, nice guys). "We are going to the very large mansion we saw right before we began walking up this awful mountain"

"Their wasn't a mansion"

"Dude, we passed it right before I found Sharon"

"I think I would remember" Louis said, "What do you think I am, an idiot?" Michael, Lisa, and myself had to resist answering that question.

"You were really drunk that day" Louis snapped his fingers.

"Now I remember, I made cherry bombs to drink" He laughed, "Good times,, good times" As I turned away from worthless idiot theater, I turned my attention to Titan, who was walking beside me.

"How's it going?"

"Please kill me" Pecha and Wisp were on his back, while Nel was on his head. They were using him to shuttle them around, so they didn't have to walk. The thing is, Titan didn't offer to do it, they got on his back without his permission.

"Make a note terrified Skitty" Pecha said, "This day will be a holiday, Rush and Pecha day, to celebrate the greatness that is us"

"I-I don't work for you" Nel said.

"Congratulations, you've been recruited"

"Actually, I"

"Congratulations! Now take a note new recruit Nel" Titan screamed, and tried to shake the three off. They held on tight, and all he accomplished was making himself look like a bigger fool.

"Did that Pichu say she wanted to give me a holiday?" Rush asked. I nodded. "Awe, that is so nice of her"

"She's in love with you" Rush looked at the Pichu, then back at me, and laughed.

"She's not in love with me" Rush said, "If she were, don't you think I would have noticed?" I turned to Pecha.

"Are you in love with Rush?"

"More then I even love power" She sighed, as little bits of ash landed on her. "I'd have him over even the world"

"Thank you crazy" I said, returning my attention to Rush. "Do you see now?"

"Yeah I do" Rush said, "She thinks Lisa is in love with me? I mean, Lisa has to love me" I just shook my head at this. The two deserve each other, they're both off in their own crazy worlds.

* * *

We walked for another hour, Enfer getting progressively more sick. Every so often, she would turn her head and vomit a fire ball. While poison from an Arbok can't kill you unless in extreme dosages, it can make you feel like shit. Finally, we made it to the bottom of the mountain, having to lower Enfer down gently. We walked for fifteen minutes after that, until we came to a giant wooden house.

Their were trees surrounding the path we had to walk on both sides, and this house seemed to emerge out of no where. It was huge, and it had a large, fenced off area behind it. Usually, we would never have done this, but Enfer was poisoned, and it was beginning to get on my nerves. The house should have been an indication of a freak living here. It was painted bright purple, with hot pink shutters, and a bright green front door. Also, it had a tower built onto the side. Balancing Enfer, the three ignored these warnings, walked up and knocked on the door. They waited a moment, and the door slung open.

"Can I help you?" We were greeted by the sight of an old woman, who looked like she was balancing on a cane like Lisa. On closer examination, you could tell the cane was a double barrel shot gun.

"We're sorry to bother you" Michael said, "But my cousins Arcanine is poisoned, and we were wondering if you had any antidotes or anything?" The woman bit her lip as she looked at us.

"I suppose I have something" She said, "Come on in" We walked inside to be greeted to a house with absolutely nothing in it. I'm not kidding, all of the rooms I could see were empty. The old woman lead us to the back of her house, then outside, were we saw something simply extraordinary.

The woman had a hedge maze. While that amazed me, what amazed me even more was at random places along the maze, their were tall black poles holding large cages. In them were the strangest pokemon I had ever seen. One held a Skarmory, who was only about two feet tall. One held a shiny Stunky (why anybody would want one is beyond me). One held a Sweblu that had, not making this up, three eyes.

"Wait here" The woman semi-snarled, "I'll be back in a second" The moment she left, I took off like a shot, followed by Rush.

"What is this place?" Rush asked.

"I dunno, a well trimmed hell" I replied. We walked over to the large, swinging cage holding the Skarmory above us. "Hello!" I called. The Skarmory, who had been asleep moments ago, suddenly jerked awake. She looked around, then down to see us.

"Hi, can I help you with something?"

"Why are you in that cage?" Rush asked.

"What the fuck do you think, I got captured!"

"Hey!" I cried, "Don't talk to Rush that way you bitch"

"What are you going to do about it?" The Skarmory asked.

"Maybe I'll climb up there and kick your metallic, feathered ass bitch" I snarled.

"Bring it on"

"Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiny!" A loud voice exclaimed. We saw a green and brown blur streak above us. It slammed into the cage that held the Skarmory, and we could finally see it was Sharon. Sharon who held onto the cage with a death grip. She tried to stick her head in between the bars, but it wouldn't fit. "Hi Shiny!"

"Is their something wrong with her?" The Skarmory asked.

"Asking that question will open a can of worms" I said. "Just out of curiosity, do you have a name?"

"Trish" The Skarmory said, backing to the edge of the cage so Sharon couldn't get at her.

"Okay, why are you here?" Rush asked, "And why are you so small?" Sharon managed to get an arm into the cage, and was now grasping at air. A little more force, and she might be able to get all the way in.

"Come on, Sharon wants her shiny!"

"I don't know why I'm so small" Trish said, "I was born that way" She pecked at Sharons hand when the Vibrava got to close. Sharon refused to let up though. "As for why I'm here, like I said I was captured. The EOB pays professional trainers money to go capture pokemon that she would think are amazing"

"EOB?" Rush asked. As he asked this, the old woman came out, this time with a syringe full of antidote. She gave it to Michael, who pricked Enfer.

"You can stay long enough for her to be okay" The old woman said, "But not a second longer"

"Evil old bitch" Trish said.

"That one's self explanatory" I said. "So they captured you because you're amazing?"

"A one of a kind, miniature Skarmory" Trish said, sighing. "The trainer she paid brought me here, and I've been stuck in this damn cage ever since"

"Have you ever tried to escape?" Trish laughed.

"About a dozen times" She said, "I can't get through the pad lock" The little Skarmory began to tear up. "It isn't fair though. She puts us in cages because she finds us interesting to look at. Does she care if we had lives before she captured us?" Ugh, now I felt depressed. I turned to Rush, who nodded.

"Angel, Rush!" Michael called, "We gotta go" I looked over my shoulder, to see the EOB watching us with steely eyes. I winked at her, the used Shadow Ball to brake the pad lock holding the cage.

"What the fuck?!" EOB screamed. The door to the cage swung open slowly (Sharon still holding tight), and Trish slowly fluttered out. She looked down at us.

"Thank you"

"Did it because the look on EOB's face made me so happy" I said. "Rush, Sharon, help me break the locks on the cages.

"On it"

"Shiny!" We took off into the hedge maze. EOB ran after us, swinging her shot gun.

"Should we help her?" Lisa asked.

"Eh" They decided to sit and watch. I only got two more cages open. Rush got four. Sharon got the other 29, collecting the pad locks as she did (they were shiny). EOB fired at us a few times, but her aim was so bad, I never had any worries. Finally, with all of them released, we returned to Michael. EOB leveled the shot gun at his head.

"Get out of my house you basted!" EOB screamed. We didn't need to be told twice, and rushed out as rapidly as we could. I looked up at Enfer.

"So how do you feel now?" Enfer grinned.

"Better then you could possibly imagine" Suddenly, Michael scooped me up. He stroked me behind my giant ears.

"You did a good thing Angel" He said, kissing me on my furry forehead. I sighed contently, and we walked on, not noticing that Trish was flying above us.

"They're an interesting group" Trish said, "And I got nothing better to do. I think I'll follow them, they'll be lots of fun. Just so long as they don't capture me" We continued on, not noticing her. Onward to Petalburg!


	56. Rereturn To Mauville

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LVI : Rereturn to Mauville**

"God, every time we blow into this shit stain, it looks fucking worse" I said, as we walked into Mauville for the third time. Titan trotted along side me, Pecha and Wisp sitting on his back, looking dignified.

"Look at it this way" Titan groaned, "We're only here for one day" One day, then we head off on our insanly long journey to Petalburg. Ugh. The thought of going to that gym and having my puffball body broken into pieces, it scared me pissless. Of course, if I won a battle there, it would be a victory for worthless puffballs everywhere!

"We're only here overnight" Michael said, "This city seems to have a gravitational pull on us, so I don't want to be here a second longer then nescicary" He stroked Rush, who wanted desperetly to be in Lisa's arms. The problem was, Lisa had to lean on her cane and Rush's headfin made balencing him with one hand impossible. This crushed his little heart and put a smile on my face.

"I've never been here before" Sharon said, "Every thing is so bright and shiny. Why are there so many hobos?"

"Gambling capital of Hoenn" I said, "Where people come to pay the tax on the stupid, and then kill themselves"

"Oh look, that guys peeing" Sharon chirped happily. Stupid Vibrava/Gyarados thing. When we were getting electricuted, where the fuck was she?

"I'll get us a hotel room" Louis said. L3 was unconcious in his arms. She found Louis's secret-secret stash of pot, so he broke a bottle over her skull. Nel was latched to his skull, as usual.

"No, we'll stay at the pokemon center" Micheal said, "We don't have to check out, and we can leave at six a.m."

"You know" Lisa said, "It's so cute when you think you make choices for us. I'll agree to stay at the pokemon center, just due to your run of luck with hotels"

"This place gives me bad memories" Flash said, "My first trainer was here"

"The one Michael rescued you from?" I asked. He nodded quickly, unwilling to say anything else. Oh well, his loss.

"Anyways" Lisa said, "I think as long as we're here, we need to stop by the game corner. You know" Her hands were shaking. "Just to check in, see how they're doing over there"

"So you can loose the rest of our money?" Michael asked.

"Okay, I might have a small problem" Lisa said, "But I'm feeling lucky today"

"NO!" Both Michael and Louis said. Lisa sighed, and instantly the grin vanished off of her face.

"No matter what, I need to got by that little cemetary" Lisa said. "I need to lay some flowers on Virgil's grave"

"We'll come with you" Michael said, but Lisa shook her head.

"No, I need to do this alone" Lisa said. "He was my most loyal pokemon. I didn't want to burry him here, but I did because I had no choice. I have to see him alone, okay?" Micheal nodded, and we continued quietly.

* * *

"How did Lecard end up in Hoenn" The question had been bugging Enfer ever since the incident, and now she decided to bring it up. I had hoping she would avoid it personaly, because I had also thought about it. The difference was, I had a pretty good idea who arranged it.

We sat in one of the rooms for trainers at the pokemon center. Their were two sets of bunkbeds, neither of which had matresses on them. Why didn't they? Do I look like I know? Me and Enfer sat on the bottom bunk of the bed on the left side of the room. Flash was also on the bed, unconcious at the end.

"Couldn't it have been a coincidence?" I asked. Enfer shook her head.

"In our journey, with all of the weird shit that's happened to us, I no longer believe in coincidence" Enfer repplied. "Running into your homicidle ex-boyfriend, the masked man who tried to kill us, getting stuck in that cave as it flooded, are those all coincidences?" I grinned nervously.

"About that" I said, "Remember how I told you about Not Meowth? Well, I left a few details out" As I began to try to explain the most complicated supernatual entity of all time, Louis sat on the ground, staring out the window waiting for Lisa to return. Nel was off of his head, and in his lap, letting him stroke her.

"He's to stoned to hurt me" Nel chanted, "He's to stoned to hurt me"

"What are you looking at?" Michael asked. Louis sighed, and began stroking Nel harder, pulling little hairs out as he did Nel shreeked, but Louis didn't notice.

"I've been thinking"

"Oh boy"

"The night Virgil died" Louis said, "Enfer was there, imagine if it had been her"

"If that lunatic had shot her instead?" Louis nodded rappidly. "He didn't though, Enfer is okay, and Lisa blasted that psycho to hell"

"I know she did" Louis said, "But that doesn't stop me from thinking of what might have happened. If Enfer died, I don't know what I would do. She's been with me since I was a kid"

"Well she's fine and Virgil's dead" Michael said, "Imagine how Lisa feels"

"Yeah, I have" Louis said, standing up. "I've gotta go see her"

"Didn't she just say she didn't want anyone there" Louis was already heading out the door though.

"Their's a second one?" Enfer asked. "Having one supernatural entity mess with you isn't good enough, their has has to be a second one"

"Yeah, well this one wants to kill me" I said. "Or wants me as unhappy as possible. The alternate reality had just about everyone dead. It had me and Robin as friends!" That thought made me shudder. "When I undid that reality, she decided to make it her goal to completely ruin my life"

"You think she had something to do with Lecard?"

"I'd be shocked if she didn't" I repplied. "All I know is her only goal is to see me dead eventualy"

"Why on earth would she want that?" I shrugged.

"I have absolutly no fucking idea" I responded, "I initialy thought she might have been Satan, but that wouldn't explain why she targeted me"

"What do you think is happening with Lisa?" I let out a small scream, as Rush appeared behind me.

"Jesus, where the fuck did you come from?" Rush ignored the question, and sat down on the bed, laying his head on my furry side. "What are you doing?"

"If she hasn't completely dealt with Virgil's death" Rush said, "Then who knows what seeing his grave will do"

"Rush, we were in the middle of a conversation" Enfer said, but he ignored her.

"She's going to need someone" Rush said, "A shoulder to cry on when she breaks down. The shoulder of a certain small, blue Mudkip"

"What other color would you be?" I asked.

"I've got to go see her!" Rush said, "This could be my chance to finaly get her to see how I feel!"

"So you're going to turn her misery, into an advantege for you?" Rush nodded, and I grinned. "That's such a low thing Rush, I've never been so proud! You go take that woman" Rush nodded, and jumped off the bed. As Louis opened the door to leave, Rush darted past, getting out before anyone could notice.

"You know this wont end well" Enfer said.

"I know, but it'll be pretty funny"

* * *

Lisa only bought flowers because she wanted something to lay on Virgil's grave, and she didn't know what else to put. The flowers were white somethings, what they were didn't honestly matter. They were cheap, and they weren't flashy, Virgil would have been proud.

The cemetary was even worse, if you can believe it. Almost all of the little tin markers had been knocked down, and were floating in large puddles. The rain had eroded several of the graves, and some of the coffins were now sticking out of the ground. Rather then fix this, they had planted bushes along the perimiter of the cemetary, and put benches outside of it. In case you wanted to spend your day staring at the dead. The only noise was the cool wind blowing, and the silence of the dead.

Virgil's grave was one of the few uneffected, like the weather had intentionaly avoided it. The tin marker looked like it had the day Lisa had bought it. No grass had grown over his grave, but their was grass seed on top of the dirt. They had really done a half ass job of maneging this cemetary.

"Hi Virgil" Lisa said, kneeling down and placing the bundle of white somethings on his grave, "I'm sorry I left you here, I honestly am. When I get done with this journey, I'm going to have you moved to some place nicer. I know you didn't understand why I had to do this journey, but I needed some human contact. Even if it is with a seventeen year old and a stone brained moron.

"Speaking of those two, I'm honestly greatful for them" Lisa said, grinning. "Michael originaly didn't want me coming along, largely because he didn't know who I was. I think he still wouldn't shed any tears if I left, but he's at least tried to make me feel better. Louis, he really surprised me, he actualy cares about me! I know, it's shocking, but he comforted me the night after you died. Nothing happened between us, just to clarify, but Louis was awfuly sweet. Who would have guessed" Lisa gulped, now to the part she really wished she didn't have to say.

"I got another two pokemon, a Pichu and Vulpix. I know, I said I would never capture another pokemon, and I didn't. One of them, the Pichu, I rescued from my sister, you remember I told you about her? The one who I suspected of eating babies? The other was given to me by Robin, that annoying girl Michael knows. The two of them weren't getting along, but I get along well with the Vulpix. She reminds me of you a little, but less serious" Lisa began to tear up. "I hope you don't mind, I wasn't trying to replace you. It's just, they needed me, and I couldn't say no" Lisa burried her head in her hands and broke down crying. Suddenly, someone draped their arms acoss her shoulders.

"Come on, let's go" Louis said, helping Lisa to her feet. Lisa was numb, and Louis maneged to manuver her to the bench outside the small cemetary. "Are you okay?"

"Why did you come out here?" Lisa asked. "I said I wanted to be alone" Louis shrugged.

"I know this is hard for you, and I figured you would need someone. When ever I think about my mother, it hurts me so much what she did, and I wish I had someone there. Someone who cared about me. I do care about you Lisa, I do" She smilled.

"You know Louis, I don't know much about you" Lisa said, "I've been traveling with you for half a year, and I barely know you. Who is Louis Adalian?"

"I am" Lisa laughed.

"What I mean is, who are you? What things do you like?" Louis shrugged.

"I dunno, I like beer"

"Shocking!" Louis stuck out his tounge.

"I don't like meat" He said suddenly. "Don't like it, don't eat the shit"

"Why not?"

"They make meat out of living things! Did ya know that?" Lisa shook her head sarcasticly, "I don't want to eat living things! What if they ate me?!"

"So when you're eating a burger, you're worried about the burger eating you?" Louis noddid rappidly. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Meat is death" Louis said. "If I'm going to eat meat, it better be from a pokemon that died from natural causes. Like getting hit by a truck!"

"Okay" Lisa said, trying to resist laughing, "Let's change the subject, what else do you like?" Louis thought about it for a moment, before suddenly snapping his fingers.

"I like old movies! I know I like those"

"Why?" Louis shrugged. "Shrugging is not an answer, I want to know why"

"Well, the acting was better" He began, "The plots were originaly, the the actress were beautiful. They were naturaly that way, no plastic surgery done. It was more real" Lisa burst out laughing.

"You're a pot head, and you like old movies because they're more real?" Louis nodded. "Alright, why not"

"Also, you cared about the main characters in the story" Louis said. "You wanted them to end up together, you wanted a happy ending for these people. At the end of the movie, the two of them kiss, and before they do it's the best part of the movie"

"The best part? Why?" Lisa asked.

"It's like a countdown. You count the seconds off in you head, until they kiss, and the anticipation builds up, it feels so good"

"A countdown huh?" Lisa asked. Louis nodded.

_5…_

Lisa smilled, brushing some of the hair away from her face.

_4…_

Louis gulped, his mind rappidly going blank. He tried to think of something, anything he liked, but nothing came.

_3…_

His face approached hers slowly, and he kept expecting her to back up. She didn't though.

_2…_

They both closed their eyes.

_1…_

Their lips touched gently. It should have surprised Lisa that she was kissing Louis, or maybe it should have dissgusted her. It didn't though. It felt okay to do this, it felt right to do this. Yeah, what surpired both of them was that she was kissing back. He caressed the small of her back, moving his hand up slowly.

_I'm kissing Louis_ Lisa thought. Suddenly, as the thought hit her, her eyes went wide. _Holly shit, I'm kissing Louis._ Lisa jerked herself away from Louis, batting his hand away.

"Lisa, what's the matter?" Lisa stood up slowly, using all of her energy to stand up.

"This didn't happen" She said, before turning and walking back to the pokemon center. Louis watched her walking off, a little amazed at what had just happened. Eh, maybe it's best that he didn't tell anyone about what just happened. No one wold believe it anyways.

What they didn't know was that someone had seen the entire thing. Sitting behind one of the bushes near the bench, Rush had seen the entire thing. He had seen Lisa kiss Louis, seen her enjoy it. Now all he could do was sit there and cry.


	57. Broken Hearts and Evil Pichu

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help**

**LVII : Broken Hearts and Evil Pichu**

Rush couldn't move. His body had turned to cement, and his limbs were worthless. All he could do was stare at the bench that had Louis on it, unable to cry any more. Hell, he couldn't move anymore. He heard the rapidly flapping of small wings, as someone touched down behind him, but he couldn't turn his head.

"You're Rush right?" Trish, the Skarmory they had rescued earlier asked. Rush didn't acknowledge her. "I'm Trish, you remember me though. I just saw you sitting here, and decided to say hi" Rush didn't even turn his head. "Rush?" She pecked on him, and he fell over sideways, all limbs stiff. "Oh boy"

Michael was trying to get some sleep on the bed in the pokemon center, the first he had gotten in days, but it wasn't coming easily. Every time he closed his eyes, something would wake him up.

"Do something with me!" Sharon whined as she landed on Michael's chest. She pounded her little fist like digits on his chest. Michael groaned, trying to block out the crazy Vibrava. "I need to do something! I need to eat something"

"Hi Sharon" Michael mumbled, opening his eyes slowly. Sharon cheered, as he sat up slowly. "What do you need?"

"Plaaaaaay with me" Michael yawned. He looked around the ground near the bunk bed, and grinned.

"Sharon" He said, plucking her off of his chest. "Have you seen Titan?" Titan, who had also been trying to sleep (without Pecha and Wisp on his back) jerked his head up.

"No, oh God no" Titan cried.

"" Sharon took off like a bullet from a gun. Titan tried to run away, but a four hundred pound hunk of tin isn't the fastest thing in the world, and Sharon caught him in no time. She tackled him, and the two flipped over and landed on the ground. Sharon then held him in a death grip.

"Sharon, this is great and all" Titan said, as she stroked his tin skull, "But could we"

"Quiet shiny" Sharon whispered, as she continued to stroke. "Will you be my friend shiny?"

"No!" Titan cried, squirming against Sharon. "Damn, you are freakishly strong."

"Don't forget it shiny" Sharon said. Michael sat back down, hoping to finally get the rest that had long since escaped him.

"God I've had a shitty day" Lisa cried, throwing open the door and storming in. Michael groaned, as Lisa slumped down on his legs. "Have you ever been starring at someone's grave, and wondered what does it all mean?"

"Could you please get off of me?" Michael asked. "It's not hard, just please sit up or something" Lisa ignored the obvious pain Michael was in.

"I'm standing in front of Virgil's grave, and I wondered why I was journeying with you guys, and I think I figured out why" Lisa said, "But I don't know why Virgil died. Isn't life funny? You think your life is planned out, and you know how everything will happen. Then someone dies, and your whole plan goes out the window"

"I know what you mean" Michael said, through gritted teeth, "And I will be more then happy to talk about it with you later, if you'll get off my legs" Lisa finally got off, and Michael closed his eyes.

WHAM! We all jumped up, as something slammed into the window of our small room. Fluttering in front of the window was Trish, the unusually small Skarmory. Clamped in her mouth was a catatonic Rush. The window had cracked from the Skarmory hitting it.

"That's my Mudkip, isn't it?" Michael asked.

"Don't worry, I'll get it" Lisa said. She stood up, and went over to the window. Trish dumped Rush into her hands, took one look at Lisa, and flew off faster then the speed of light. "Weird" Lisa looked down at Rush, smiling. "Well, how did you get out of the room?" She began to stroke his head fin.

"Kip!" Rush exclaimed, as his body went even more rigid (if you can believe it). Lisa was shocked by this, usually Rush melted in her arms.

"Is something the matter?" Rush wouldn't talk, wouldn't even move. Lisa tried to get some kind of reaction out of him, nothing. "Michael, something's wrong with Rush"

"Of course there is" Michael said, sitting up. He took Rush in his arms, and tried to get movement out of the mudpuppy. "Rush, is something wrong?" Rush finally did begin to come to life, when not held by Lisa. "Go put him with Angel and Enfer" Lisa nodded, but as soon as she touched Rush, he went rigid. Ignoring this, she put him down near us.

"What's wrong Rush?" I asked. He looked up at me, very slowly, his face frozen in a look of sadness. "Come on Rush, what happened?"

"Louis went out to see Lisa" Rush said.

"Of course he did, that's how you got out of the room" Enfer said. "Louis went out there to make sure Lisa was okay" Rush laughed like a loon.

"He did a lot more then that" Rush said, "The two of them kissed!" I grinned at this info. I looked straight up at the ceiling.

"Thank you God, I will have so much fun with this info" I whispered. "You of course, saw the entire thing?"

"It was awful" Rush moaned, "Like something out of a bad, what are those things humans watch? They turn your brain to pudding?"

"Movie?"

"That's it" Rush said, sighing. "Like a bad movie. The two of them kissing in front of me. They might as well have put a knife in my chest"

"Or your groin" I said, which got me a smack on the back of the head by Enfer. "Owe, what was that for?"

"I wanna die!" Rush cried, passing out. "I just wanna die" As Rush passed out on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, Pecha began to rub her tiny paws together. She and Wisp were on the bunk above us.

"I have an idea" Pecha said, "Now that the Kip stealing whore is out of the way, I'm going to manipulate Rush right into my paws"

"Pecha, your evil is showing" Wisp mumbled.

"You're going to help!" Wisp jumped up, as soon as the last syllable left the evil Pichu's mouth.

"You do what you want you psycho" Wisp said, "I'm not helping you take advantage of Rush, especially since his heart just got crumpled"

"He'll recover, I wont" Pecha replied. "You're going to help, or so help me"

"You'll zap your self?" Wisp asked sarcastically. Pecha growled, and tried to thundershock Wisp. Instead, she ended up shocking her self. Wisp fell backwards, laughing.

"This proves nothing" Pecha growled, standing up. "Just listen to me, let me tell you what my plan is"

"Don't think I care" Wisp said.

"You're going to string him along" Pecha said, "You're going to pretend you care about Rush, then you're going to crush his heart. Then, when he's all broken and destroyed, he's going to need a good Chu to lean on"

"He's broken and destroyed now" Wisp said, "Do you need to do it a second time?"

"Nobody questions the Chu!" Pecha ranted. As she went on her tirade, Michael finally sat back down again. No more crazy pokemon, emotional women, or window smashing Skarmory. He couldn't help but think he had forgotten someone though.

"Oh Christ" The door flew open.

"Daddy's home!" Louis cried, two joints in his mouth.

* * *

We left first thing the next day. Michael didn't want to spend a second longer in Mauville then we had to. We would head west, through the Verdanturf tunnel, end up in Rustburrough, and head off from there. It wasn't the quickest way, but we didn't have any ocean transpiration, so it was the only way.

"I think we need to talk about what happened yesterday" Louis said. Two minutes of walking, and already Louis needed to talk. The two of them dropped to the back of our group, by my (unusually) long ears let me hear them perfectly.

"We don't need to discuss it" Lisa said, grinning nervously. "We both agreed, nothing happened. Since nothing happened, then nothing happened, so nothing happened, do you understand?"

"No" Louis said. "It did happen though" He draped his arm across Lisa's shoulder, only to have her shrug it off (smooth Louis). "We kissed, and admit it, it was great. You know it was great"

"I've had better" Lisa said quickly. "From anyone, from women!" Her heart was racing a mile a minute. She was lying through her teeth, and pretty badly I might add.

"Bullshit" Louis said. "I know I've never had better, because you were different then any other woman I've ever kissed. With other women, all I think about is getting out of there, but you didn't make me think of anything else. You made me feel"

"Shut up" Lisa growled. "We'll talk more later"

"You know, I can hear you" Michael said, but neither of them seemed to notice. "You two kissed, what does this mean?" No reaction. "Morons"

"How do you think Rush will deal with this?" Flash asked me. I gave a scream, and jumped straight up in the air.

"Jesus, where did you come from?"

"Rush's entire life focuses around Lisa" Flash said, "He's put all his eggs in one basket. If someone doesn't offer him emotional support, he could crash badly"

"Nobody offered me emotional support, and I put a rope around my neck!" I cried, "Sorry if I don't seem concerned"

"You of all people should be Angel" Flash said, "You know what it's like to love someone, and not have them love you back" I felt the fur on the back of my neck bristle at this.

"Shut the fuck up" I growled.

"If you don't talk to him, someone will" Flash said, "Look" Wisp had climbed off of Titan, and was slowly approaching Rush. Rush's head was facing the ground, and he looked like he wanted to die.

"Hi" Wisp said, trying to conjure up emotions. "I saw you were looking upset, and I figured you could use something" I think she meant someone to talk to, but Wisp wasn't capable of that kind of emotion.

"My life is over" Rush said. "I'm going to be sick" Wisp sighed, and shook her head.

"You're going to be fine" Wisp said. "This was obviously a mistake, so I'm going to" Rush let out a loud, miserable cry. "Okay, never mind"

"How can she love that stone brained son of a bitch?" Rush cried. "I'm twenty pounds of Mudkip! I care about her! I've never gotten stoned! I'm the cutest SOB you'll ever meet"

"That's really great" Wisp said, "But I'm going to"

"It just isn't fair!" Rush whined. "I've had a hard life, I don't deserve this kick in the stomach. I mean, what did I do to Lisa?"

"You didn't do a thing" Wisp said, "Lisa was weak, and Louis was there, you couldn't help it"

"It just seems life will never give me my chance!" Rush said, "All I want is to be with her, and love her, and make her so happy"

"Rush, shut the fuck up" Wisp said. "If I have to hear you whine for one more second, I'm going to knock a hole in your head" Rush's mouth dropped.

"What?"

"I'm sorry" Wisp said, "I'm almost sorry that Lisa stomped on your heart, I am. But wallowing in self pity, and being a pain in the ass wont help you at all okay?"

"What will help me?" Rush growled, trying to look mad (still looked cute). Wisp laughed at the question.

"Rush, I've been in so much pain in my life" She said, "And I've yet to figure out what makes it better. The only thing I can suggest is time. Believe it or not, as time goes on, you start to feel a lot better"

"You're suggesting on a long enough time line" Rush said, "I'll quit caring about Lisa? I don't want that"

"I never said you'd quit caring" Wisp said, "All I meant was it would get easier eventually. I should know" Wisp then did something I'd never seen her do before. She smiled! It was a small thing, but she did smile! "It got easier for me over time"

"What happened to you?" Rush asked sweetly. Wisp shook her head, unwilling to tell him.

"It doesn't matter" Wisp said, "It was a long time ago" I noticed her draw her hind legs closer together for some reason, but I couldn't figure why. "I just want you to know, you're not the only one whose hurting. If you ever need to talk about this, I will-be-here" Wisp stammered out the last part.

"Thanks" Rush said. The two of them began to talk happily, Wisp talking like an actual person. After a little while Rush was okay so Wisp decided to go back over to Pecha.

"Have you decided to go along with my plan?" Pecha said, "That will deliver Rush into my arms?"

"Of course not" Wisp replied. "Your plan is cruel, overly complicated, and makes no sense" Pecha growled.

"If you don't agree" The little Pichu said, "I'll have to expel you from my New Chu Order. You'll become an outcast, and be excited for treason!"

"Blow it out your ass" Wisp replied, sticking out her tongue. Pecha screamed in rage, shooting sparks every where.

"Pecha will not stand for this! This means war! I will rule all and make you pay! New Chu Order! New Chu Order!" I shook my head, grinning from ear to ear.

"That was nice of Wisp" Enfer said, causing me to jump (again).

"How does a three hundred pound dog sneak up silently?" I asked.

"It helps when you're hurting to talk to someone" Enfer said.

"I guess, whatever"

"Glad you think so" Enfer said, "Because once we stop tonight, we're going to do the same thing. We're going to figure out why you're so unhappy" My eyes went wide.

Awe fuck.


	58. Chiquitita

****

National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help

**LVIII : Chiquitita**

Night came to fast for me. All day long, my stomach had felt like a cement mixer, churning inside me. No night music that night. All I wanted was a little night music, but what I got was the silence of the dead.

Louis and Lisa were unable to look at each other. The tension was smothering, but neither of them were willing to acknowledge it. Michael stood in between them, like the meat in an awkward sandwich.

"So" Michael began, "Do you think my next gym battle will go well?"

"Uh huh" Louis and Lisa said in unison. Michael whistled slowly.

"Okay, great answer" He smiled to him self. "By the way, I'm a secret transvestite"

"Uh huh"

"The Hoenn space program contacted me" Michael continued, "They want me to be the first she-male on Mars"

"That's great" They said.

"Before I go, I'm going to convert to worshiping the ancient deity Ba'al. To celebrate, I'm going to slaughter both of you in your sleep, drink your blood, and eat your hearts. Do you have any problem with this?"

"Uh huh"

"Just what I thought" Michael said. "I just realized, if our group were a family unit, I would be the father figure. The seventeen year old who is recovering from the girl he loved killing her self should never have that role" Enfer looked at me, as Michael mentioned the last sentence. She turned away as fast as she could, but I still saw. It was a look of pure sympathy, something I never wanted. "I think we should stop for the night"

"Why?" They asked, again in unison. The pale crescent moon hung high in the sky as Michael suggested this.

"I dunno, the fact that it's the middle of the night and I've been suggesting it for the last four hours" Michael said, sarcasm dripping off of his tongue.

"Eh" The two of them stopped walking, like a pair of robots. Michael basically collapsed on the ground then, not bothering to get off of the road. Michael had been having a rough couple of days, unable to sleep and having to deal with the nitwits. I was worried about him, he desperately needed rest. Hopefully tonight he would get it.

I climbed onto his chest. Michael lifted his head, just long enough to see me. He smiled, then passed out on the ground. Lisa and Louis sat down as far from each other as they could and fell asleep. I noticed Rush and Wisp curl up together, with Rush no where near Lisa. They were actually right beside Louis. Odd…

"Angela" I cracked open my eyes, to see a giant orange and black mass in front of me.

"Awe shit" I mumbled, closing my eyes again. "Wake me never"

"Angela, come on. We need to talk, I can't put this off any longer, I've put it off for long enough"

"Fuck you" I replied. I felt steel jaws clamp around my fur, and lift me up. My eyes bolted open. "Enfer let me go you bitch, I demand you let me go" She ignored me, and continued on with me in her mouth.

* * *

We walked off the path, into the woods. The woods weren't particularly thick, since it had been a dry summer and the lack of water had caused them to dry up. Pine needles cracked under Enfer's paws as she dragged me on. Finally, when we reached a huge clearing, she let go of me.

"Sorry about that, are you okay?" I faced Enfer, backing up slowly. I then spit on her. "I'll take that as a no"

"What gave you the right to kidnap me?" I snarled.

"We need to talk, you're not going to any other way" Enfer said. "I know since I told you I was your mother, I haven't been good at it" The truth is, Enfer had at least tried. The problem was, trying to be friends with you reincarnated suicidal daughter is always going to be difficult. "You've been unhappy since we met again (since we met the first time as an Eevee and Growlithe). I want you to be happy, but the only way that's going to happen is if you tell me why your miserable"

"I killed my self, that's why" I said.

"You were unhappy when you killed your self" Enfer said, "The suicide wasn't the problem, it's just a symptom of the problem"

"There is no problem" I snarled.

"You killed yourself! Why?"

"I don't know!" I cried, "I just did"

"You just woke up one morning, and decided today was a good day to die?!" Enfer exclaimed. "I don't believe that, and you don't either, give me the real reason"

"Fuck you"

"Angela, please" She said in a sympathetic voice. "I care, believe me I do. I just want to know. I'm your mother, I care about you" I began laughing slowly.

"You want to know?!" I exclaimed. "You want to fucking know?! Well, here's something you didn't know, I knew the drunken Duncans weren't my parents!"

"What?" Now I couldn't stop laughing.

"I didn't know you were my mother, but I knew they weren't my parents. You want to know the story? You want to know you bitch? Fine, you can hear the damn story"

* * *

It actually began the day before my suicide. I was over at Michael's house, watching the recap of a battle between Sapphire and some challenger, and taking notes on her battle strategy. Michael sat beside me on his couch, holding a large egg.

"So why can't you do this at home?" I turned to him.

"Do you want me to leave?" Michael shook his head rapidly.

"No! Of course not, I'm just curious" I nodded and turned back to the TV, scribbling notes into my notebook.

"The drunken Duncans traded our TV for two bottles of scotch and a six pack" I said, "They'd trade me for alcohol if they could" I looked at the large egg. "When the fuck is that thing going to hatch?"

"Soon" Michael replied. "Its going to be a"

"Don't care" I interrupted. "Just trying to make conversation" Michael frowned.

"Angela, is something wrong?" I laughed.

"Why?" Michael shrugged.

"You seem depressed, and I don't know why" I sighed.

"I dunno, I'm still getting over my break up with Donny. He really did not want us to break up, it was kind of creepy how much" I said. "The odd thing is the drunken Duncans liked Donny, they wanted us to stay together"

"Another reason to break up with him" I laughed.

"Yeah, your probably right" Michael gave me a sympathetic look.

"You are going to be okay, right Angela?" I closed my note book.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. Its just lately, I feel invisible. I don't know why, it just feels like if I died, no one would care"

"I care" Michael said, but I didn't notice because I was checking my watch.

"It's late, I better head back" Michael protested, but I ignored him and headed out of his unusually clean house. On the outside, both of houses look similar, but once you enter either of them, you can tell the difference. Notably, once I opened the front door I stepped on a beer can.

"Home" I shouted, getting no response. "Guess they aren't here" Oh well, it meant five minutes where we weren't screaming at each other. I headed up to my room quickly, glad for the quiet.

In my room, I removed the pages from the notebook and placed them into a scrap book. I had been working on this book for a long time, and I was almost done with it. All I needed was to fill out my section on Emerald, and I would be done.

I took the book with me, and sat down on my bed. I was beginning to feel less depressed, but I had been depressed for so long I didn't think it would go away. I had felt invisible ever since breaking up with Donny. When I was with him, I stood out, and that was something I wanted. I wanted to stand out, to be noticed and admired. I was noticed at least.

That was one of the reasons I wanted to become a trainer, to be noticed. The greatest mistake (at the time) was not forcing them to let me become a trainer. They claimed they were concerned about me, they didn't want me to get hurt. Because they cared. Ha! They didn't care.

My depression had gotten so bad, I had contemplated suicide. I had even bought a length of rope to hang my self with, but I couldn't' go through with it. I had it stored under my bed, I don't know why. I was finally starting to get better, but all of it would change that night.

I heard the door open and slam against the wall. I contemplated sitting in my room and not going to see them. If I didn't though, they would think I wasn't home and then punish me for it when they finally noticed me. I headed out of my room, already regretting my decision.

The two of them were standing in front of the door (and by standing, I mean slumped against), talking about something. I paused on the stairway, curious to hear their conversation.

"Antonio shouldn't have cut us off" Sylvia said, "We're loyal customers, we're good for it"

"That's what we said last time" Alistar said, "When we didn't pay. We need money, worker's comp ain't enough"

"Don't look at me" Sylvia said, "You told me we would get such a great price on our TV. You told me we would get more then enough money. You told me when we adopted that brat, her mother would be sending us money"

"WHAT?!" I screamed, causing both of them to look up.

"Awe shit, the brat" Sylvia said, "You deal with this, I'm buzzing pretty good right now"

"I'm adopted?!" I asked, my voice wavering.

"I guess, I dunno" Alistar said.

"What do you mean you don't know?!" I exclaimed.

"Would you shut up" Sylvia said, "Yeah you were adopted. Yeah, your mother was a worthless bitch" She looked me straight in the eyes. "No one cares about you. Don't you get it yet? All you've been is a money drain to us, and no one cares if you live or die. No one can even see you" With that, the two of them oozed off to their room. I collapsed on the stairs.

I had been in a fragile emotional state, and in half a second the two of them destroyed me. They were right though, at least I thought they were. No one cared about me, no one cared that I was alive.

I tried to sleep that night, but all I could do was stare at the ceiling. The next morning, I got out of bed wearing the same clothing as the night before, and slumped out of the house. It was the beginning of summer, no school now. The drunken Duncans were already off, probably drunk again. I didn't care about them, didn't care about anything.

I walked through town in a daze, eventually ending up in the woods outside of town. I settled on the bed of a small creek, unable to move anymore. I couldn't see my reflection, because the water was so murky.

_No one can even see me_

* * *

"I killed my self that evening" I snarled. "I don't care if you didn't want to leave me with them, you still did"

"You're depressed because no one noticed you?"

"I'm depressed because my life hasn't changed!" I screamed. "Even when I was reborn as an Eevee, I feel like shit all the time! Why the fuck hasn't any thing changed?! Why can't my life get better?"

"Angela, if you knew the drunken Duncans weren't your parents, why didn't you tell me?" I laughed slowly.

"I wanted to see if you were any different. I wanted to see if you cared about me, but oh no. You've been lost in your head since you told me" Enfer sighed.

"Yeah, I haven't been the best in the world. I am trying though"

"Fuck trying!" I screamed, "Fuck trying, and fuck you" Running on pure rage now, I opened my mouth and fired a shadow straight at Enfer. Enfer dogged to the left, and I fired another one. As she dodged, I kept firing, but none of them hit!

Screaming, I used quick attack to lunge at Enfer. This time I hit, but Enfer didn't say a word. I hit her with enough force to knock the three hundred pound dog-thing onto her back, but still she didn't say anything. Then I was so full of rage I didn't know what she was doing, but as I look back I know exactly what she was doing.

Enfer was strong, stronger then anyone in our little party. She knew I was full of rage, and she was letting me work through it by taking it out on her. Enfer could take it, she knew she could take it, and for that I am eternally grateful.

I lunged at her neck, and bit down with my tiny "fangs" (they call them fangs, I call them shit). All I got was a mouth full of fur and loose skin. Enfer shook her head, and I fell onto my back.

This just enraged me more. I used quick attack again, this time hitting Enfer in the skull. She stumbled and I fell flat on my ass. This time I had cut my self, and Enfer saw this. I guess she had decided if this continued I would kill my self, so it was time to end this. Enfer walked over and gently placed one of her paws onto my back.

"Hey, let go!" I snarled. I squirmed, trying to get up, but Enfer refused to remove her paw. "Let go of me damn it!"

"I notice you Angela" Enfer said. "You're the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, and I love you. I just want you to know, someone will always care about you"

"I don't believe you!" I snarled. "I've been alone in my misery for so long, you could have told me but you didn't! You-you" I blinked back tears. "You do care?" Enfer nodded, and I broke down sobbing.

I cried for my lost human body, for the stupidity of killing my self, of all of the terrible things that had happened to me. All of it poured out of me, all of my anger and sorrow. Enfer stayed with me the entire time, and I knew that she did care. She loved me, despite my stupidity and the rage I had against her.

She loved me, and for that, I am grateful.

* * *

We made our way back to the group, just as the sun began to rise. Michael and the group were still asleep, with the exception of Flash who had been awake for who knows how long. His head turned to us as we emerged from the woods.

"Where did you two go off to?"

"Training" Enfer said. I grinned.

"Yeah, training" Flash looked shocked.

"Angela, are you smiling?!" I shrugged.

"I dunno, I guess I'm happy"


	59. Rondo of Fear

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LIX : Rondo of Fear**

I was happy my dear listener. To this day I still am, but now even more so. I just want to clarify, event though I was happy, I didn't stop cursing. I didn't stop getting easily enraged. I didn't stop being sarcastic. What fun would I be if I did?

Anyways, the sun came up within an hour of returning to the group. I climbed back onto Michael and passed out. Michael didn't look very good, even in sleep. His hair that stuck out from under his bandana was limp and greasy. Their were heavy, dark circles under his eyes. He was trembling, even in his sleep. I chose to ignore it, and curled up in a ball. Only a couple of hours later, I was nudged awake.

"Come on Angel" Michael said, "It's time to go" His eyes were swollen, and blood shot. He placed me on the ground, and struggled to his feet. Stumbling over to Louis and Lisa, he gently kicked them. "Time to go, come on"

"Five more minutes" Lisa mumbled.

"I'm drunk, don't bother me" Louis replied. Michael kicked them again, and Lisa swung her cane and hit him across the knees. Michael let out a small noise, and collapsed to the ground.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Michael walked through down the road in a haze, as we continued our walk to Vanderturff town. Enfer and I walked separate from each other, both of us grateful for the night before, but not wanting to rehash it. Titan was ignored by Sharon, and grateful for every moment of it. Pecha walked in front of me, with L3 and Sharon following her like drones. Oh boy.

"Pecha, what's going on?" I asked, walking to the crazy Chu. Pecha grinned like a loon.

"I have two potential new recruits to the New Chu Order!" She thrust her arm up. "In order to join me, the potential recruits must go without food, water, or encouragement for three days. That is the rule"

"Since when is that the rule?" I asked.

"The first rule of the New Chu Order, you don't talk about the New Chu Order" L3 and Sharon said unison.

"Uh huh" I said.

"The second rule of the New Chu Order, you don't talk about the New Chu Order" I returned my attention to Pecha.

"What did you promise them if they joined" Pecha laughed.

"Pecha need not promise anything. They will join simply to join the Chu!"

"Sharon you promised to give Titan" I said, "Didn't you" Pecha scowled. "What I don't get is how you calmed L3 down long enough to listen to you. Hell, L3 isn't freaking out right now, how did you accomplish that?"

"Question the method of the Chu not!" Pecha exclaimed, thrusting her arms up. "No one shall question me! All will die! New Chu Order! New Chu Order!"

"Every conversation with you ends in a psychotic rant" I mumbled. As I dealt with Pecha, the real entertainment of the day began. Michael decided to try breaking the silence.

"Look, the tension of this group is beginning to choke me" Michael said, "One more day of it, and I'll kill both of you. Can we please actually talk about something?" Lisa and Louis looked at each other, and shrugged.

"Fine"

"What do you want to talk about?" Lisa asked. Michael shrugged.

"I dunno, what's your favorite book" Lisa thought about it for a moment, and snapped her fingers.

"Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin" Lisa said, "I liked how it showed the development" Louis interrupted her by (barely) stifling a laugh. Lisa turned to him, scowling. "Is something funny?"

"I knew you would pick something stupid and pretentious like that" Louis said, leading me to wonder how he knew the word pretentious. "That isn't a good book. Good books have lesbians, robots, and lesbian robots"

"So you're ideal book would be a mix of I-Robot and Tropic of Cancer?" Lisa said in a growl. Her face was contorted in anger, telling me this had nothing to do with the taste of this moron.

"You bet your flat ass it would be" Louis said. He smirked. "I shouldn't be surprised at your choice in reading material. You've got a stick so far up your butt, it's poking you in the lungs"

"I'd rather have a stick up my ass" Lisa said, "Then a joint in my mouth. You know, your mother must have fucked you up real bad"

"You leave my mother out of this" Louis screamed. "My mother loved me. Unlike you nazi bitch sister. I gotta wonder, how did you come from that family and not end up that bad? How do we know you're not just like those fuckers?"

"Don't you dare compare me to them!" By now, both of their necks were bulging, and spit flew out of their mouths as they screamed at each other. Michael looked absolutely miserable in the middle of this mess.

"I think my favorite book is American Psycho" Michael said, trying to redirect the conversation. "It shows how shallow the world can get when it has no values, religion, or originality. What do you think?"

"If I didn't have this cane I would break your skull" Lisa snarled. "I'd knock your head off like a baseball"

"You can use that cane" Louis taunted, "Bring it on bitch, I'll take you" Louis plucked Nel off of his shoulder, and pitched her behind him. Nel screamed, and landed on me. We collapsed to the ground, her head laying on mine.

"Could you get the fuck off?" I asked.

"Cursing Eevee!" Nel screamed, jumping off. She ran to the back of the group, trying to keep as far from us as possible. I sighed, and turned back to the others.

"Michael, could you please tell Louis he's being a stupid ass" Lisa growled.

"Could you tell Lisa to shut her mouth and quit being a lousy bitch" Louis snarled.

"I think you're both morons" Michael replied. "I want to stab you both to death, and play around with your blood" Michael waited to see if either of them had any kind of reaction. Nothing. Shocking. "Do you two even know I exist?"

"You stone-brained asshole"

"You girl fucking bimbo" I laughed as the two of them screamed at each other. It was like Punch and Judy. Only instead of hitting each other, they screamed obscenities. I walked over to Rush, to get his thoughts. Only, he wasn't paying attention to them, he was talking to Wisp.

"You know, Louis and Lisa are fighting" The two of them didn't notice me. "Uh, hello?" The two of them looked up.

"Can we help you?" Rush asked.

"Lisa and Louis are fighting" They looked at me with blank faces. "Lisa, the woman you loved" I said to Rush, "And your trainer" I said to Wisp, "Don't you care?" They looked at each other, and shrugged.

"Why do humans argue?" Rush asked. "If they battled each other, they would use up their energy and frustration, forget what they were arguing about. Every body wins!"

"I know" Wisp replied. "We need to pity those silly humans, they don't know any better" With that, the two of them returned to their conversation.

"Who am I supposed to talk to?" I asked.

"You know" Flash said, appearing behind me and causing me to jump, "If you need someone to talk to, you can talk to her" He gestured to the back of the group to Nel. She was hyperventilating, a nervous looks on her face.

"Where did you come from?!" I cried.

"Talk to her" Flash said. "She'll feel better"

"Why the fuck would I do that?" Flash shrugged.

"You claim you're happy. Prove it, make someone else happy" I blinked, and some how Flash vanished. How the fuck did he do that? I returned my attention to Nel. She looked terrified. For a brief moment, her eyes met mine. Awe fuck, now I felt guilty. Sighing, I walked through the group to Nel. "Uh, hi" Nel looked at me, and her eyes bulged.

"Please, take my money but don't kill me! I don't want to die!" I sighed, and shook my head. This would be harder then I thought.

"You don't have money" I replied. "And I'm not here to kill you, I just want to talk" Nel nodded slowly. "Why are you nodding?" She gulped.

"I'm just agreeing, please don't hurt me" I was at this point, desperately resisting the urge to strangle this dumb ass Skitty. I chose not to though, seeing as I didn't have hands to wring her neck with.

"Look, I just want to talk" I said through gritted teeth.

"You're mad at me!" Nel whined.

"I'm not mad" I said. I resisted the urge to snarl, had it not been for my night with Enfer I would have head butted this cretin. "I just want to talk"

"About what?" Nel said, taking deep, panic breaths.

"I dunno" I said, "What are you afraid of?" This would turn out to be a dumb idea. Nel thought about it.

"Water"

"Well, okay" I said, "I understand that, I'm not the biggest fan of"

"And grass"

"Um, okay" I replied. "That's a bit weird"

"Dirt, loud noises, crowds, heights, stares, stairs, beds, old people"

"I think you've made your point"

"Blood, puppets, legendary pokemon, pokemon in general, Serge A. Storms, Tyler Durdin, politicians, buttons, hot days"

"I get it" I said.

"Clowns, machine guns, moon stones, growing up, music, warriors, nightsongs"

"Enough!" I cried. "Okay, scared of every thing, got it" Nel's bottom lip began to tremble. "No, oh please God no"

"You hate me!" Nel cried. Awe fuck, not again.

"I don't hate you" I said over the sobbing Skitty. "I'm just amazed at all of those things you're scared of. Can you blame me? You're scared of every thing!" Nel looked up, sniffling.

"Not everything" Nel protested.

"Oh really?" I asked, not believing a word.

"Yeah! Not everything!" Nel said. "I'm not scared of Butterfree! They're so pretty, I can't be scared! When I watch them float through the sky, it makes me feel calm"

"That's one thing" I said "Anything else" Nel thought about it, her tail waving back and forth. I noticed it only did that when she was calm, any other time it was stiff. So I had up to this point, only seen it stiff.

"Humans" Nel said, "Human's don't scare me"

"That's funny" I said, "I would have thought"

"You can't be scared of the enemy" I froze in mid-sentence. Oh boy.

"The enemy?" I asked, not sure I wanted to hear the answer to this question.

"Humans need to be eradicated" Nel said. "I'm not saying I want to rule the world or any thing. Just obliterate any humans who rape our planet, who kill pokemon, who are reborn"

"You know about reborn humans?" I asked. Considering she didn't associate with other pokemon, I couldn't be sure.

"It angers me" Nel said, "Most humans don't deserve to be blessed with a second life as a pokemon! Why would the legendaries do this to us?"

"What about a human who dies as a baby, but the legendaries give them a second chance?"

"They're okay" Nel said, "They haven't had a chance to be corrupted by the human world"

"Okay, if you could eliminate most of the human race, what about our little group" Nel thought about it, before shaking her head.

"I wouldn't kill them, they're not bad. They treat us like equals, they're my friends"

"You said you wanted to kill the human race!"

"Only the bad ones" Nel said, "The ones who enslave pokemon, and burn up the planet. I'll defend the good ones though, even if it costs me my life. They give me hope for a better world. A world with no pokemon league, or battling"

"Where every one sits in a white padded room and sings carols?" I asked sarcastically.

"Oh, could we?" Nel asked, eyes lighting up like diamonds. "I could just imagine it. It would be so clean!"

"You know" I said, "You've got a good streak of crazy running through you" Nel giggled like a school girl, surprising me. Her laugh sounded like someone tapping the keys on a piano that produced the gentlest notes.

"I know I do, I know it's crazy to be scared of every thing" Nel said. "But I just want to be safe. It's a dangerous world out there, and we all have to find safety. Some find it in the muscles of their arms, the sharpness of their blades that substitute for hands, the heat of the fire they produce. I can't do any of those things, I'm so small and helpless. Do you know what that's like?" I grinned.

"Nel, I'm a foot tall brown puff ball. My strongest attack is a bad ass shadow ball that wont do me any good at the next gym. I definitely know what it's like to be weak and worthless"

"How did you overcome it?" Nel asked.

"I just adjusted" I replied. "Nel, if you don't mind me asking, why do you hate humans" A tear appeared in the corner of her eye.

"They took my momma" Nel refused to say anything more. She rapidly blinked the tear away, and smiled. "Thanks for talking to me Angel. Does this mean we're friends?" I sighed, and smiled.

"Yeah Nel, we're friends" So in one day our group nearly fractured its self beyond repair, I made friends with a psycho Skitty, and Pecha got two new recruits.

The sad part is, this is normal for me.


	60. Calm Before The Storm

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LX : Calm Before The Storm**

Nothing of much importance happened in Verdanturf town, aside from three more screaming matches from Louis and Lisa. Each ended with either Louis trying to set Lisa on fire, or Lisa hitting Louis in the nuts with her cane. Michael could no longer sleep, and had spent the last few nights staring at the ceiling or the dark sky. At night he just zoned out and became oblivious to the rest of the world.

Now the morning had come and we were headed through the Rustburrough tunnel. We needed to make it in one day, unless we want to sleep on rocks all night. Lights ran across the top of the tunnel, strung by over five miles of wire. The lights were dim and spaced to far apart. Between each light were large spaces of absolute darkness. Even the lights overhead cast large shadows, and generally only illuminated one side of a persons face. The effect was eerie, and wind whistling through the tunnel as we walked added to the atmosphere.

I was tired, having not slept much. Enfer and I had spent the night before training, her teaching me how best to dodge attacks. She said she would teach me how to fight against Norman's pokemon when we got closer to Petalburg.

The thought scared me.

"Do you think the battle will be fun?" Sharon asked, hovering over me.

"Of course not" I said, wondering why this psycho dragonfly was hovering over me, asking stupid questions.

"Then why are we doing it?" Sharon asked, "Battling is boring already, we need to have fun battles. With lots of shiny!" I looked around quickly, seeing Titan walking behind me. I grinned.

"Say Sharon, speaking of shiny" I gestured behind me to Titan. Sharon's eyes went big.

"Shiiiiiiiny!" She scream. Titan looked up.

"Awe shit" Sharon slammed into him, and knocked him onto his back. "Sharon come on!"

"My shiny" As the two of them wrestled, I returned my thoughts to Petalburg. No gym had bothered me as much, and usually this one wouldn't. It's just what Petalburg stood for in my mind. Lavaridge was the last of the "easy" gyms. Each gym after (with the exception of Mossdeep) were insanely difficult. Winona in particular is known as the strongest gym leader in Hoenn.

I of course was blessed with the honor of getting my ass kicked by their pokemon.

"You're worrying about nothing Angela" Rush said, coming up from behind me. Wisp was beside him, and Pecha was behind him, envy all over her face.

"How do you know I'm worrying about anything?" I asked.

"You get a look on your face" Wisp said. "You stare vacantly and gnaw on your bottom lip. One of these days, you're going to bite through the damn thing" I stuck out my tongue.

"Aren't you nervous Rush?" I asked. Rush laughed.

"I laugh at danger, and when it comes to find me, Wisp kicks its ass for me" Wisp grinned. She grinned! Yet the world did not come to an end.

"You two scare me" I said, "Almost as much as our local ninja Flash" The lousy yellow freaks ability to sneak up on me was beginning to scare me a lot. "Just out of curiosity, why are you two hanging out?"

"We enjoy each others company" Rush replied.

"You're not fucking, right?" I suppose my crass nature surprised Rush, causing him to accidentally trip and flip onto his back. Wisp didn't notice, gunfire wouldn't bother Wisp.

"You know, not everything involves sex" Wisp said.

"I choose to believe the philosophy of The Big Chill" I said, "Everyone does every thing to get laid" I didn't believe that at all, but the reaction on Rush's face was priceless. Mostly because this was a comment that usually would have come from Titan.

"You're a moron" Louises voice cut through us like a chainsaw through paper. Michael groaned, while Lisa turned to Louis slowly.

"What did you say?"

"I said you're a moron" Louis replied. "Just out of curiosity, do you wake up each morning and wonder how much of a fucking bitch can you be that day?" I know this seems like Louis was coming out of nowhere, but the day before Lisa called him an asshole for no reason.

"Shut up jackass" Lisa snarled. "You know, all of the problems in this group are because of you" Michael looked at them both wearily, using all of his energy to resist punching them both.

"Really, I contribute nothing?" Louis asked. "Who pays for everything?"

"Michael" Lisa replied, "You'd blow our money on hookers and pot"

"Yeah, well at least I would spend MY money on things that matter" Louis roared. "If I remember correctly, when you got that prize money in Johto, you blew it on two things. Number one" He pointed at her left breast, "And number two" he pointed at her right.

"Michael, tell him he's being ridiculous"

"Tell her she's being a fucking bitch" Michael thought about how much time he would do if he killed both of them.

"Okay, enough" Michael said, "We've established nobody takes shit from nobody, can we please stop fighting?"

"Do you want to have a go?" Louis asked.

"I could drop you like a sack of dirt" Lisa replied.

"I give up" Michael said, sighing. His skin was beginning to look blotchy, a side-effect of sleep depravation. He had bought a pair of sunglasses in Verdanturf town that he was now where because all light burned his eyes. The mindless fighting of the two morons was wearing on him, and he couldn't take much more.

"The obvious solution is they need to sleep together" I let out a scream, as a pair of metal claws grabbed me and lifted me up. A large metal, beaked face appeared in my vision.

"Trish?! What the fuck are you doing here?" I snarled.

"Been following you for a few days now" The micro-Skarmory replied. "You saw me when I dropped Rush off"

"I thought I was mistaken" I replied, "Why are you following us?"

"Entertainment value" Trish laughed. "You guys are the funniest group of fuckers I've ever seen"

"My misery is your entertainment?!" I cried. "Is it scary that I understand that? Why are you carrying me?"

"Felt like it" Trish said. "Impulse control was never my strong point. Besides, I like you Angela"

"Look, I'm flattered" I replied, "But the lesbian thing isn't really me" Trish pecked me on the head.

"Not that way dumbass" Trish replied. "I mean you have common sense, a good (if some what thick) head on your shoulders. You've got common sense, something this group so desperately needs"

"Wow common sense!" I said. "Woopity fucking doo. A lot of good common sense does coming from an Eevee"

"People don't listen to pokemon, they should" Trish said. "In some cases, we're smarter then them"

"And by them, you mean Louis?"

"The brain dead are smarter then Louis" Trish said. "The window I slammed into this morning is smarter then Louis" The Skarmory sighed. "The two of them obviously care very deeply for each other. If they slept together, everything would get better"

"Or everything would get worse, and you would have more entertainment?"

"Exactly!" Trish laughed. "I'm sorry, but I don't know how long I've got on planet where-ever-the-fuck-I-am. My motto is if you're not enjoying life, you're pissing it away"

"How exactly did you end up in that cage we pulled you out of?" Trish let go of one talon. "Never mind!" I cried nervously. "So, any other inane observations you need to make about our group?"

"I dunno, I noticed your trainer"

"Michael"

"Yeah, that guy, isn't sleeping. He looks like puke, what happened to him? What's bothering him so much?"

"I would assume it's the two stooges, but I don't know" I replied with all honesty. "Something's set him off. I know of something that effected him early on in this journey, but I doubt that's what affecting him now"

"You mean your suicide?" If Trish weren't holding me, I would have dropped.

"How did you know about that?!" I cried.

"Heard you talking to the Arcanine. She's really your mother? That's kind of twisted"

"You were watching me? What gives you the right? How did I not notice you?"

"I was more surprised you didn't notice the Ampharos" Trish replied. "I was hiding in a branch, he was standing right behind you. If it's any conciliation, the Arcanine"

"Enfer"

"Enfer didn't notice either" Trish said. "Is he just invisible? I don't get it, he's snuck up on you so many times since I've been following you. Surely you would have noticed" When I growled again, Trish took that to mean change the subject. "Okay. You want to hear some other things I've observed?"

"Sure why not" I said, sighing.

"Well, Rush your little mudpuppy is still definitely in love with the human chick" Trish said, "But he's using his friendship, using that term lightly, with Wisp to not address his hurt and betrayal"

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"Well, he wont leave her alone. Now Wisp is in a lot of pain herself, why I don't know. Eventually though if the two of them don't share why they're in pain, their friendship that's only started will crumble"

"Interesting theory"

"Not a theory" Trish said. "You see, I've been an outsider for most of my life. Comes with being a third the size of a regularly Skarmory. I don't blame those who ostracized me, may they burn in hell, because they gave me the opportunity to see the world as an outsider. When you see the world as an outsider, you notice things. You noticed how pokemon and humans act when they think no one is watching"

"Okay" I said, "What else have you noticed"

"Well, that perverted Lairon is in love with the Vibrava" I burst out laughing at this one, just couldn't keep it in.

"Titan, in love with Sharon? That's bullshit, Titan hates Sharon"

"Really?" Trish asked. "Let me ask you, when Sharon grabs Titan, does he resist? Fight back?"

"Sharon is stronger then him"

"Not an excuse not to struggle" I snorted.

"Okay, why would Titan be in love with her and not make a perverted comment?"

"Would you say you're innocent Angela?" I laughed again.

"Christ no, the last thing I would ever consider my self is innocent"

"Well Sharon is" Trish said. "She's brave, unlike Nel or Pecha. She's innocent unlike you, Wisp, or Enfer. Titan likes that about her, but his brain doesn't know how to react to this. He can't make a perverted comment, yet he can't express any feeling for her. It's acutely kind of weird"

"Sharon is a moron though"

"She's slightly brain damaged, but she's not a moron. Mostly, she has an attention span that would put gnats to shame" Trish said. "Say, isn't that the end of the cave?" I looked foreword, as Trish dropped me on my ass.

"Owe! Trish?!"

"Outsider!" The Skarmory said, vanishing into the shadows. Enfer came up beside me.

"Who were you talking to?"

"No one" I mumbled. Suddenly, a pair of hands reached down and picked me up. Michael hugged me close to his chest, and began gently stroking my fur.

"Hey Angel" He whispered. "Can you keep a secret?" His voice was so quiet, my giant ears could barely pick it up. "I've taken a lot from these two, and with every thing that's happened to me over the last few months, they've pushed me to my braking point. I don't know how much more I can take"

* * *

Tagger had a grin on his face as he watched the group emerge from the tunnel, something very rare for him to possess. It was even rarer for the grin to not be faked, but it was authentic. After the humiliation in the woods months prior, he deserved a grin. The boy was almost broken, and soon would be ready for Tagger to kill him. He'd make the boy beg for his forgiveness, for disrespecting Tagger. Then Tagger would personally snap the neck of Angela-fucking-Duncan.

After that, he would begin to look for Chris. After that fucking whore Anna his child from him, it had driven him almost insane. He would find Chris though, and train the child into his protégé. He had forgiven Anna at the time for hiding the child from him, god knows why. Tagger should have tortured her for her betrayal. No one betrays Tagger.

"I'll give you this much Tagger, you do have a certain flair" Not Milotic replied. "Your plan sounded insane, but it is working"

"It would have worked even without your influence" Tagger replied. "You only succeeded in healing me" Not Milotic decided against pointing out that she was the reason everything at this point in time had worked. She had been the one to rob the boy of his sleep. Yes, the pot head and dyke fighting would have happened anyways, but the boy was currently in no shape to deal with their crap. People like Tagger though could not be told otherwise.

It was qualities like that which made her love Tagger. Well, when she was human she could have loved him, her only feelings now were mild amusement and disgust.

"Once they arrive in Petalburg, the fighting of the two morons will have driven the boy to his breaking point" Tagger said. " He will be unable to find solace in his pokemon, he needs it in other people"

"Why?"

"Beats me" Tagger said, scratching his black hair. "He will isolate himself from the group. That is when I will strike"

"Is there any other human he can talk to? Any who can comfort him?" Tagger shook his head.

"Of course not, we would no about it" Tagger said. "All we have to do now is wait"


	61. Michaels Cressendo

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXI : Michael's Crescendo**

Not Meowth looked at his servant, the one he had picked. He sighed, unsure if he could do this.

"How you deal with Michael will decide whether he lives or dies"

"I understand"

"I can't directly interfere with them. It's against the rules. I can only act through the actions of others"

"I wont let you down" Not Meowth smiled.

"I know you wont"

I would love to tell you about the exciting adventures we had during our second trip through Rustburrough, but I can't. Mostly because their weren't any my dear listener. Sharon held onto Titan. Flash snuck up on me. Enfer was enigmatic. Louis and Lisa fought like a pair of stupid bitches. Finally, Michael bit his tongue and was still unable to sleep.

The stress was beginning to effect him in other ways, in how Michael acted in battle…

* * *

It was mid-December in Hoenn. December would have been cold any other month, but in Hoenn it was a mild 96 degrees. I had sweat through my fur coat about six times that morning, outside of Petalburg Woods. Michael had gotten challenged by a kid who obviously didn't know what he was doing. His only pokemon were a Poochyena and a Shroomish. Since as a trainer you have to except any challenge that comes against you, Michael had been forced to except.

"Chy, use growl" The little boy called happily. His Poochyena growled cutely at Sharon. Sharon though was laser focused on her prey, mostly because battling was stopping her from holding and biting Titan.

"Sharon, use dragon breath" Sharon opened her mouth and released purple flames that consumed Pochyena. When they stopped, Pochyena lay on its side, conscious but paralyzed.

"Huh, guess I loose" The boy laughed.

"You're a stupid bitch" Way behind us were Louis and Lisa, sniping at each other. Wisps of their conversation drifted over to us. Every time they said something, Michael clenched up a bit more.

"Sharon, tackle" Michael snarled. Sharon plowed into Pochyena, sending it skidding against the ground.

"Hey! What are you doing?" The boys eyes were wide. "Stop it" Sharon slammed against. "Please mercy"

"Mercy is for the week" Michael snapped, "Snap its neck" Sharon moved in for the kill"

"Stop!" The boy jumped in front of his Pochyena, and Sharon hit it in the chest. Michael's eyes bulged.

"Oh my God" Michael said, his eyes bulging. "I'm so sorry" He moved toward the boy, who had started to cry.

"Stay away" The boy cried, "Y-you're mean"

"That's what you get for beating eight year olds" I mumbled.

"Michael almost snapped that poor pokemon's neck!" Flash cried. When ever Michael battled, Flash had to stand beside me (elected by the group) to keep me from running onto the field and "correcting" Michael's mistakes. "Aren't you concerned?" I shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess"

"You were screaming at him" Flash cried, "Go for the jugular, your exact words" I laughed nervously. The little boy ran off, tears streaming down his face, and Michael turned back to the group. Sharon shot off like a cork from a champagne bottle and grabbed Titan. She embraced Titan and rolled with the force of impact.

"My shiny" Sharon whispered, stroking his tin skull.

"God I need a break" Michael said, as we returned to Louis and Lisa. They weren't making eye contact with each other. Michael snapped his fingers, and they began to follow us.

The two had been going at it non-stop, and sense Michael hadn't been able to sleep, they had taken a lot out of him. He looked like absolute shit by now, not much longer until he hit rock bottom.

The blotchyness had gotten worse, with noticeable red and white splotches all over his body. His eyes were swollen and bright red, twitching rapidly. His hair was limp and several greasy stranding hung out from under his bandana. Michael's clothing was stained and covered with dirt. Since he had been unable to sleep, he had been unable to do the laundry for out group (yes Michael did the laundry for us). All of his limbs were limp, and it was all he could do to shuffle along.

"How far are we" Louis said, in a tone implying Lisa wasn't part of the group, "From Petalburg?"

"Not very far" Michael said, "Less then an hours walk"

"What will we do when we get there?" Lisa asked. This time the tone implied Louis could go to hell.

"I'm going to rest for the day, train tomorrow, and battle Norman the day after" Michael said. "That'll be a Saturday. It'll be the last day they're open in December, so I need to not screw up"

"Speaking of screwing up" Louis began.

"Oh look, we're here!"

* * *

Michael had underestimated how long a walk it was. You can blame that on his lack of sleep and dealing with the idiot brigade. Petalburg seemed to have a whole new charm to it, from the last time I was there.

The first time I had come through I had just won my first battle ever. Yes it was against Wurmple, but it counts! Anyways, first time I was here I had just been reborn. I had giant ears, a super strong nose, a new tail, and no idea what to do with them. Well, I now know what to do with all of them (except the fucking tail) and I was no longer mystified by my situation. The city looked beautiful. I smiled and turned to see a masturbating bum.

Just beautiful.

"Lets get to the hotel please" Michael said. "Louis, I'm going to trust you to pay for the room. Lisa, you book it some where other then the top floor okay?" The two looked at each other.

"I-uh we-uh but!" They began stuttering in perfect unison. Michael groaned.

"I don't care how you do it, just do it" Michael said.

"You know what I just realized?" Pecha asked, riding up beside me. She was on Nel's back. Nel was scared of Pecha, scared pissless.

"You're an annoying pain in the ass?" I asked, not sarcastically.

"Logical human is tired!" Pecha said. "The constant fighting of boob-job human and stone brained human is tiring him even more! If I could create stress, I could break the human race, take over the world, and Rush would love me! New Chu Order! New Chu Order!"

"You can create stress" I said, "Every time you open your mouth you create stress. I'm sure your stressing out Nel"

"Scared Skitty is not stressed" Pecha said, "Right Skitty"

"Uh, right?"

"Right and" Nel gulped.

"New Chu Order?"

"New Chu Order! New Chu Order!" I sighed, and pulled back from the group. Enfer plodded over beside me, staring at the shouting Pichu.

"Does every rant end like that?" Enfer asked.

"You don't want to know"

"Weird" Enfer said. "Tonight we begin training you for your battle with Norman"

"Great" I mumbled, shoulders (or the closest thing I had) slacking at the thought.

"Are you scared Angela?" I nodded.

"Norman has a history of excessive force in battle, and as he's gotten older, he's gotten worse. At the end of the day, I'm forty pounds of fluff, most likely going to fight a Slaking"

"You have two things on your side though" Enfer said. "You're small and fast"

"How is that supposed to help?" I asked. Enfer grinned.

"You'll see" We came to a large, gray building. The luxurious Pressman hotel. Louis and Lisa walked over to the revolving doors.

"After you" Louis snarled.

"No after you" Lisa sniped. They went on like this for a minute, before Michael walked over and shoved them into the revolving door. The two fell into it and the door slung them into the lobby, minus their pokemon. Michael collapsed against the side of the building.

"Michael looks stressed" I heard Rush say. I turned, to see him talking to Wisp. "We should go comfort him"

"I don't do the comfort thing" Wisp said.

"Come on it will be fun" Rush said, running over happily. He jumped onto Michael's lap, kipping quickly. Wisp sighed, and jumped onto his lap as well. Michael's head drooped down.

"Hey guys" He said in a cracked voice.

"Iwannajoin" L3 cried, rushing over. She didn't really go near Michael, she vibrated near him. I sighed, and jumped onto his lap as well.

"Boy, you look like shit" A new voice said. Oh God, not her, not that voice. Michael looked up, right as Robin sashayed her pants suit ass out. She crouched down in front of us, smiling. "What's going on?"

"Scary pants suit!" Nel screamed. Robins suit was bright red, made out of some shiny material. I could see my reflection in it. She was just as pale as usual, but no more so then Michael.

"Robin?" Michael asked, almost not believing it. "What are you doing here?" Robin smiled, only showing off the top row of her teeth. I never noticed, but their was a gap in them.

"Spending my last night at the hotel. I beat Norman" She said.

The sun then blacked out. The moon turned blood red and the stars fell from the sky. Demonic hoards came out of the abyss and Satan himself rode around on a flaming chariot, slicing off heads.

Okay, I'm exagerating. But that is what my hatred for Robin drives me to do.

"How did you do that?" Michael didn't even seem to believe it.

"Well, my five pokemon"

"Five?" Robin grinned.

"So glad you asked. Come on out guys" Robin tossed two pokeballs behind her. From one emerged an Altaria. Nothing special about this one, but the cloud body definitely suited head-in-the-clouds (or up her ass) Robin. The other one.

"Oh God"

A Milotic. It was huge, and starring right at me. Its eyes turned my veins to ice water, and my entire body locked up under its gaze.

"_I'll bring him back Angela" Not Milotic said, "But Michael will forget everything"_

"Gah" I gasped, jumping backwards and pressing myself against Michael's chest as tight as I could. Robin recalled the two of them, and sat down beside Michael.

"So how is it going?" Michael let out a barking laugh.

"Look at me and take a wild guess" He sighed. "It's just, I can't sleep and having to deal with Louis and Lisa fighting"

"Why are they fighting?" Robin asked.

"Two of them made out and"

"They kissed?!" Michael sighed, and nodded.

"That's when my trouble began" He said. "The two of them have obvious sexual tension, and they're not dealing with it. Not only do they choose not to deal with it, they've decided to fight instead. I can't go through a day without the two of them sniping at each other. It's WWII, and I have to be Switzerland. It's a nightmare that I can't wake up from and I want it to stop" Michael moaned, burying his head in his hands.

"What do they do for you?" Robin asked. Michael looked up.

"Huh?"

"I mean, they must be an important part of your group, to put up with the amount of crap you do"

"Of course they do" Michael said. "They…They uh, they're booking the hotel room!"

"Really?!" Robin said in mock shock.

"Yeah, except they weren't going to do it until I forced them" Michael replied. "But they help me train"

"They do?"

"Uh, no. I borrow their pokemon and train by myself" Michael said. "That's not the same thing is it?"

"Not really"

"Well they're great for conversation" Michael said. "I know all they do now is fight, but before that they uh, talked about having sex with super heroes"

"That's…interesting"

"No it isn't" Michael said. "The two of them contribute nothing to the group do they?"

"Not a thing"

"So, what do I do?"

"Tell them off" Robin cried. "Tell them off for all of the shit they put you through"

"I don't know if I can"

"If you can't, the anger will boil to the surface and you will anyways" As if on cue, Louis and Lisa came out of the revolving door, pushing each other out of the way. The two ended up spilling onto the ground.

"Well, I got a room" Louis said, standing up. As Lisa began to stand up, Louis shoved her down again.

"Shit-for-brains got a shitty room" Lisa said. She knocked Louis on his ass, and stood up. "Top floor, craptastic"

"Michael, tell the blonde whore she's being a bitch" Louis said.

"Tell him he's being a bastard"

"Michael!" They whined in unison. Michael looked up slowly. He grit his teeth as tight as he could.

"Tell her?" Michael asked, his face twitching. His skin turned as red as a tomato, all of the white splotches turning red. "Tell her? You want me to tell her? How about I tell you something. Like, I dunno, you're a sack of shit!" Louises eyes went wide.

"…What?"

"You're a sack of shit" Michael said, standing up slowly. Wisp, Rush and I moved over to Robin's lap. "You're only good for lighting joints and swilling vodka! You're so buzzed because you can't stand to spend a second in the real world! The rest of us have to go out and live our lives, but not you! Oh God no, Louis is special! He has the right to live in a drug induced fantasy world"

"My mom ran out on me!" Louis protested.

"I don't care if your dad strangled her in front of you!" Michael screamed. The veins in his neck had bulged till it looked like they were going to pop. "If every one who had a bad life were addicted to drugs, the world would be more screwed up then it already is!"

"You tell him Michael" Lisa cheered. Michael turned to her, a wicked look on his face. Oh boy.

"You egocentric bitch" Michael snarled. "Tell me, what do you contribute to the group?"

"…Uh, what do you mean?"

"I mean, name one thing you do for this group?" Michael asked. "Aside from suck up air, and act as another mouth to feed, what do you give to this group?" Lisa just stared, dumb struck. "I've put up with a lot, because I know you're hurting. I have limits though. I can't put up with someone who contributes nothing to the group! Even Louis brought the money, even though I had to take it because Louis would just spend it on hookers!"

"Hey! You don't know that!"

"Oh please" Lisa said, "You'd blow it all on hand jobs"

"What do you know about me?" Michael screamed in frustration.

"Notte e giorno faticar!" Michael screamed in a language I didn't recognize. "Piova e vento sopportar! Mangiar male e mal dormir! Non voglio piu servir!" Lisa and Louis looked at each other, then back at Michael.

"What?" Michael grinned.

"I can sum it up in five words" Michael said. "Fuck the two of you" He flipped the two of them the bird, withdrew all but me into their pokeballs, and walked away from them into the hotel after picking up me. Robin looked at the two of them, and followed behind Michael.

Their was a heavy wind that day, that blew Taggers hair and suit jacket. He didn't notice though, to busy watching the group at the ground below. Although Tagger was standing on top of the building across from the hotel, he could hear the group perfectly thanks to his Milotic friend. Right now he was grinning from ear to ear.

"This is wonderful" Tagger said. "Now all I have to do is wait until tonight, when the boy separates him self from the red head"

"Then you will strike?" Not Milotic asked.

"Yes, then I strike"

* * *

Robin lead Michael and me to her room. Michael was in shock, starring at me as he walked. Robins room was on the second floor, and she lead Michael by the arm limply. When we got inside, Michael collapsed onto her bed.

"My God, what did I just do?" Michael asked. He stroked my fur, and rubbed my long ears.

"You unleashed all of the anger inside of you" Robin said, grinning. "To be honest, I didn't know you had it in you" She sat down and stared at him. "What made you have it in you? Them fighting?"

"It's not just that, it's everything" Michael moaned. "Over the last year, the girl I loved died, I ran away from home, avoided death twice, survived a storm, and killed someone"

"You..killed someone?" Robin asked. "Michael, tell me everything" Michael sighed, and broke down. Everything spilled out, running away from home, hiding in the cave during the storm, killing Donny, that night in the woods, every thing. The entire time Robin held Michaels hand tightly.

"I've been thinking a lot about all of it lately, and I think that's why I can't sleep" Michael said. "Those two fighting is just making things worse. I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can't function, and I'm so angry all of the time! I don't know what to do!"

"I wish I had a suggestion" Robin said, "But I've got nothing. Maybe the problem is Louis and Lisa"

"That's what I've been thinking" Michael said. "And I think I have a solution. When I leave Petalburg, I'll be going on alone. Louis and Lisa can do what they want, but they wont be with me"

"I was suggesting talking to them!" Robin said. "You've been traveling with them for over seven months, could you really just stop?"

"Yes!" His confidence wavered. "I don't know, I have to do something"

"Think about it, don't make this decision rashly"

"Yeah I know" Michael said, sitting up. He placed me on the bed. "I need some fresh air, but I'll be back. Can I stay here tonight?"

"Of course" Michael smiled, and walked out of the room.

* * *

"Can you believe what Michael said about us?" Lisa asked, breaking the silence as the two of them walked down the hall to their rooms. All of their pokemon had been withdrawn except Enfer, who didn't have a ball.

"No I can't" Louis said. "Mostly because all of the problems in our group are your fault"

"Oh great, here we go" Enfer moaned.

"My fault?! How is it my fault?! You're the brainless pot head who can't shut his mouth for five seconds"

"You've got a stick so far up your ass, I'm amazed you can breath" The two had stopped by now and were facing each other.

"Oh, you're a moron"

"You're a whore!"

"You fucking pot head ass hole"

"You stuck up self absorbed bitch!" Both of their eyes had gone wide, and their breathing increased.

"Are you as turned on as I am right now?" Lisa shouted.

"More!" Lisa leapt on Louis.

* * *

The air was cool, but not cool enough to make Michael shiver. He walked out the lobby of the hotel and around the side into the ally. It was night by now, and their weren't many people outside. The only lights came from the oddly placed street light. Michael stopped halfway down the ally, and screamed.

It was completely primal, and it expressed better then words how he felt. He was going to have to figure out what he was going to do. He couldn't continue to travel with them if they were fighting! At the same time, Michael needed them, just because no human companionship would drive him crazy.

"Ugh, how does Robin do it" Michael mumbled.

Tagger wished he could have felt the metal pipe in his hands. The cold steel would have been reassuring. Tagger couldn't afford to leave finger prints though. If they found his, oh boy would it be bad.

Tagger could see the boy from where he stood. The boys back was turned, and he seemed to be mumbling to himself. No time to wonder about what, the time to strike was now. The street was deserted, and although Angela Duncan wasn't with him, Tagger could get her later.

Shuffling the thirteen inch steel pipe in his hand, Tagger slowly walked down the ally, towards the boy.


	62. Salvation

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXII : Salvation**

According to postmodernist philosophy, there are no absolutes in life. I can of course tell you that this is complete bullshit because the philosophy its self is an absolute. I can also tell you its bullshit because I have met an absolute.

His name was Jerry Tagger. Tagger was walking death. Almost all who crossed him died. I was one of the few who had survived. Tagger though was a force of vengeance. He wanted revenge against those who got away, he wanted to eliminate those who he perceived to be his enemy.

That night he was prepared to do just that.

* * *

"I'm worried about Michael" Robin said, pacing back and forth. "You know Angela? I'm so worried about him, I can't think straight"

"Must you use my real name?" I mumbled. "If you don't, I can go back to pretending you don't know who I am"

"Michael is considering dumping half of his team" Robin said, "Although I think it's a good idea, he's being so rash about the decision. He needs to think it through!"

"I say we keep them" I mumbled, "Story would be dull with out them"

"He needs someone to comfort him" Robin said, "Someone warm who he likes. He needs me!"

"Yep, your delusional" I said, "Side-effect of your mother dropping you on your head as a child"

"My mother didn't drop me on my head" Robin snapped.

"Then how else do you explain" My head snapped up. "Wait, you can understand me?!"

"Uh" Robin grinned nervously, "No I can't"

"Yes you can!" I cried, jumping up on the bed. "Fuck, you're talking to me right now!"

"Watch your language!" I closed my eyes and counted to ten.

"How can you understand me?" I asked in a controlled voice.

"You know, I think I'll go see Michael" Robin said, moving quickly to the door. I jumped off and followed close at her heels.

"Don't think you can escape me you fucking bitch" I snarled. "Anywhere you go, I'll be with you" We rushed out of the room and to the elevator as fast as our legs would carry us.

* * *

Tagger had dreamt of this moment. Ever since that night in the forest, when he had killed that Zangoose. His thoughts had been filled with the faces of those who got away. The blonde woman Tagger put a bullet through. The long haired man, Tagger had wanted to beat his obnoxious face in. The boy though, it was the boy he remembered most of all. The boy had not been scared of him, even when Tagger broke his face. He hadn't passed out, hadn't begged for his life. He just sat and took it.

Tagger almost died that night. Bullets ripping through his flesh, he had even begun to worry he might die. Tagger couldn't be allowed to die though, especially not at the hands of the lesser men. He was one of the few super men, the men Nietzche spoke of. Killing as he decided was never murder, he was entitled.

Tagger had recovered though, and now it was time. In front of him was the boy who had ruined his life, his last obstacle before Angela Duncan. The metal pipe he had chosen over a gun or his traditional machete. He wanted to feel the boys head burst like a tomato, and this would be how he did it.

He moved silently into the ally. You would have assumed any man, even one of average height and weight like Tagger, would make some kind of noise. No, Tagger knew how to make his body into a weapon, silent and stealthy. The boy couldn't even sense Tagger behind him. Tagger prepared to raise his pipe.

A force of energy hit him like a speeding train. It washed over him and seeped into his muscles, paralyzing them. Taggers body froze, as if made of stone. His arms he could not move, nor his legs. He willed his arm to move, but nothing happened.

"Michael, there you are!" A new, irritating voice said. The shape of a woman appeared, moving around Tagger and over to the boy. "Excuse me" She mumbled as she passed the frozen Tagger. The boy looked up, only then noticing Tagger.

"Oh, excuse me sir" The boy said, as he and the girl walked past him. He noticed for the first time and Eevee at the girls heels. Tagger tried to growl, scream, do anything. He was paralyzed though as the two walked off.

"Thanks for coming Robin" Michael said, as they entered the hotel. "I was about to head back up anyways"

"I'm sorry if I disturbed your thinking" Robin replied. "I was worried"

"How can you understand me?!" I screamed.

"Angel?" Michael looked behind him to me. "I didn't see you there" He bent down and picked me up. He began stroking me behind the ears. All of my anger faded away instantly. Damn my soft Eevee fur.

"You look tired" Robin said. "I'm tired, lets get some sleep" Michael nodded happily.

On top of Robins bed, for the first time in weeks, Michael slept.

* * *

"Well, that was something" Lisa said. Her clothing was scattered about on the floor, along with what belonged to Louis. "My God, what have we done"

"Well, first you removed my pants with your teeth"

"Not that!" Lisa cried. "I mean, what have we done to ourselves?! We were fighting, and then suddenly we did it! All of my anger, all of my rage, washed away in one moment!"

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"A good thing?! Louis, we slept together! We can't be friends any more"

"Why is that?" Louis asked, completely mystified.

"It's going to be weird from now on" Lisa said, "When ever I look at you, I'm going to think of tonight"

"We could try being together" Louis said. His face turned serious. "Lisa I care about you. I never want to see you unhappy, I want to do anything I can to make you happy" Lisa sighed.

"I know, what if it didn't work?" Lisa asked. "We would go back to fighting again, fighting all of the time. I don't know that I could do that"

"What makes you think we would break up?" Louis asked. "We could be that one in a million couple who never broke up, you never know"

"What about Michael? I know he wouldn't approve of it" Louis laughed.

"Then it's simple, we don't tell him" Louis said. "He's got more then enough to think about, he doesn't need us to stress him out. We keep it from him, until we're comfortable enough to tell him" Lisa smiled.

"You do have all of the answers don't you?" Lisa smiled and kissed him. "If we do this though, I have one request"

"What's that?"

"No more pot"

* * *

"What do you mean you just froze up?" Not Milotic asked. She had teleported Tagger back to their look out on top of the building. Tagger was currently loading bullets into a rifle, with which he planned to blow the boys head away. The sun had only just begun to rise, and the city was bathed in pale twilight.

"My body froze and all of my muscles went stiff. I couldn't move at all" In a city the size of Petalburg, you could buy any kind of gun if you looked hard enough. The riffle was perfect for sniping the boy from across the street. "I don't care about taking pleasure in his death" He finished loading the bullets, and looked into the rifle scope. In the cross hairs he lined up the boys head. "I just want him to die. Tagger pulled the trigger.

Not Milotic watched the bullet explode from the barrel of the gun. She watched it slow and finally freeze an inch away from the barrel.

"This reeks of a certain time-traveling, dimension-warping, goody-goody feline" Not Milotic said.

"You know me so well" Not Meowth said, appearing in front of her. "What in hells name are you doing?"

"I have no idea what your talking about"

"Creating a false reality for Angela Duncan where all of her friends are dead?"

"Don't remember that one"

"Reviving a Mudkip for the price of Michaels memories?"

"Did I do that?"

"Teleporting the revenge obsessed Arbok, Lecard, to Hoenn and then sicking him on Enfer?!"

"Can you honestly blame me for that?" Not Meowth growled with rage.

"There are rules we have to follow. We can reveal our selves to one human and as many pokemon as we want. We are not allowed to interfere with the lives of mortals. You know that"

"Or what?" Not Milotic laughed. "We're like gods. We make the legendaries tremble under our power. We don't listen to rules, we create them!"

"Go ahead, break the rules. I'll fight you over it" He growled. "You and Tagger are leaving this city right now. If not, you'll have to contend with me. You know I could destroy you"

"And I, you" The Milotic grinned. "Fine, I agree. I can still feed Tagger the location of them, that isn't direct interference. Anything he does alone, you can't get upset over"

"Unfortunately" Not Meowth mumbled. The feline looked at the frozen bullet. The bullet exploded in a small fireball, the ash also freezing in the air. Not Meowth vanished, and time unfroze.

Tagger watched the ash fall to the ground, and nothing happen to the boy. Instead, the boy yawned and got out of bed, completely unharmed.

"What just happened?"

"Nothing, we have to leave now"

"What?"

"NOW" Not Milotic screamed. In a flash, the two of them vanished.

* * *

The three of us left the hotel early that morning, before seven. The sun was hidden behind cloud cover, and the sky was a pale lavender. The city seemed empty, and most of the streets were vacant. We walked through the empty streets and out of the city, until we came to the field where we had first found Rush.

"I was here only a few days after Angela died" Michael said. "I was barely holding it together then" I veed softly, feeling guilty. Michael smiled at me, and I licked him across the nose.

"Why did you come here?" Robin asked. She had swapped the red pants suit for a blue one, sapphire blue.

"Made my first capture here" Michael said, grinning at the thought. "It was so hot that day, I was sweating through my shirt. I thought Angel here would get heat exhaustion. Then I wasn't sure what I was going to do, if I could undertake this journey. When I captured Rush though, held his pokeball in my hands" Suddenly, Michaels eyes went wide. "Look"

I turned, to see something sitting under the lone tree in the field. It was small, blue, had little white nubs coming out of its paws.

"Oh crap a Riolu" I mumbled. A Riolu who would evolve into Lucario. A Riolu who would evolve into Lucario. A Riolu who would evolve into something that was resistant to nine type and strong against five. A Riolu who would lead us to victory! I sounded like Pecha.

Unfortunately, the Riolu heard us. He took one look, grinned, and took off running into the tall grass.

"Crap!" Michael cried. He placed me on the ground. "Okay Robin, Angel, spread out. We'll do a grid search"

"Okay" Robin said, "But if I find it, I'm capturing it"

"That isn't fare!"

"Life isn't fare" Robin said, grinning. With that we spread out, and began searching the tall grass. The grass went over my head, and I couldn't see any thing in front of me.

"How on earth am I supposed to find him?!" I cried, walking blindly through the grass until I slammed my head into the Riolu.

"Ow!" The little jackal cried, falling on his butt.

"Sorry about that" I said. Our eyes connected…

I saw a boy, laying in a hospital bed. Their were several tubes and wires attached to him, and machines that continuously beeped. His skin was pale, and his eyes were sunken in. Most of all though, their were dried tear lines on his face. I heard one of the machines make a loud screech, and the boys body went limp.

"Oh my God, you're human" We said in unison. The Riolu grinned.

"What were the chances? I've only ever met one other reborn" He whistled slowly. "It's a small world isn't it?"

"I don't care if it's a small world!" I cried. "I'm going to capture you. My trainer (better to just call him my trainer, calling him Michael might lead to a long story) is feeling like crap. Knocking out you for him will make him feel better"

"Is your trainer the guy with the bandana?" The Riolu asked. "Don't worry, I'm going to go with him"

"You are?" I asked.

"You see these?" He gestured to the two dread lock like things on his head. "These sense aura, and I know your trainer is hurting. I don't like that"

"So you decided to go with us just like that?"

"Just like that" Riolu replied. "I don't like seeing people unhappy, I've had enough of that in life. Plus, I could sense he's kind to pokemon, I know he would love me"

"Well, in that case lets go" I said.

"Not quiet" He smiled. "You see, when I was human, I was a dancer"

_A dancer? The boy I saw in my vision was only about thirteen!_

"I have a natural showmanship if you will" He grinned. "If I'm going to be captured, it needs to be a good performance"

"Well, when do we begin?"

"Angel, is that it?" I heard Michael call. I could hear him running over to me.

"It begins right now" The Riolu jumped and tackled me, throwing me into the air. I popped up from the grass, allowing Michael to see me, before I vanished into the ground. "Now hit me with some kind of flashy attack, your choice"

"Glad you said that" I fired a shadow ball, that struck him dead in the chest. It knocked him on his back again. "Just out of curiosity, what's your name?"

"Bane" he jumped back up, and slammed his palm into my skull. A shock wave burst from it and flung me to the ground. I felt my body go stiff.

Fucking force palm.

"You know, Michaels right behind you"

"Better make this good then" Bane said. He positioned him self to where it looked like he was strangling me. At this, Michael tossed a pokeball, consuming Bane in a red beam. "See you soon" I heard his delightful voice as he was captured. The pokeball dropped to the ground and didn't even shake. It clicked shut and was done.

"I did it" Michael mumbled, scooping up me and the freshly captured Bane. "I've captured six pokemon! Robin, I did it!" Michael began laughing ecstatically. He kissed me all over my fuzzy skull, as Robin ran over.

"You caught it?"

"I caught it!" Michael laughed. Tears of joy rolled down his face, joy over more then the capture. Joy over simply being alive I guess, I don't know.

"What are you going to name it?" Michael stopped laughing, and looked at her.

"Robin, I needed a night away from the odd couple. You gave it to me, gave me a night where I wasn't a trainer or a father. For that I am grateful, and I want to thank you by letting you name my Riolu"

"Don't do that!" I cried, "She'll name it Ri-Ri"

"I wont name it Ri-Ri" Robin said sharply.

"I didn't expect you to!" Michael said. "What is your pick?" Robin grinned.

"Bane" Robin said, "I'm going to name it Bane" My jaw dropped open. How the hell had she guessed his actual name?!

"Okay, Bane it is" Michael said, not questioning her choice at all. He sat down on the dry ground. Robin plopped down beside him. "You know, I came out here because I've been trying to remember why I wanted to be a trainer"

"What did you figure?"

"I don't know" Michael said, smiling. "But I did finally make up my mind about Louis and Lisa. You know, I could never release any pokemon I've ever captured. They rely on me for food, for comfort. I can't kick them out of the group either. At the end of the day, they need me. I'm the one who has to be the sanity they can't find any where else in the world. I love them like family, Louis like a brother and Lisa like a crazy aunt your ashamed to admit your related to"

"Are you sure about this?" Robin asked, "What if they start fighting again?"

"I'll do every thing in my power to make sure that doesn't happen. If it still does, I don't know, but I'm not kicking them out" Robin sighed, and grinned slowly.

"What ever makes you happy" She stood up slowly, and helped Michael to his feet. I was left on the ground. "I'm going to head out"

"So soon? I was hoping you'd stay to watch me battle Norman"

"Thanks, but no thanks" Robin said. "I've got a whole day full of walking ahead of me. So I'm going to go"

"I don't want you to" Michael and Robin looked each other in the eyes.

_5…_

Robin brushed some of her red hair out of her face.

_4…_

Michael grinned nervously.

_3…_

They began to move in slowly. They paused though, and stopped. Robin giggled.

"Bye Michael" She embraced him in a hug, before bending down to see me. "Bye Angel"

"How dare you try to kiss him!" I screamed. "Tell me how you can understand me"

"No" She said, sticking out her tongue. She stood up, turned, and headed off. Michael whistled slowly as she left.

"I never thought I'd be sad to see Robin go" He mumbled. "Come on Angel, lets head back" He picked me up and kissed me again (this got a squeal from me) and we headed back into town.

* * *

Robin waited until she was certain Michael was gone, and she was alone. Finally.

"Hey, come on out here" The air in front of her began to shimmer, and Not Meowth appeared. "Thanks for telling me Bane's name"

"No problem" Not Meowth said, "I can't tell Michael his pokemon's real names, but I can tell you. Just out of curiosity, why did you ask me to make it so you could understand pokespeech?"

"I wanted to get to know my pokemon better"

"Then why don't you let the out of their balls more often?" Robin sighed.

"I have my reasons" She looked at Not Meowth. "When will I run into Michael again?"

"Not for awhile" He said, "Not until after Lillycove"

"I can live with that"

"Thank you for not leaving Michael alone long enough for that psycho to get him"

"When he left my room, I remembered his words" Robin replied, "I knew I had to get down there as fast as I could. Tell me, that man I saw"

"Yeah, that was the one who would have hurt Michael. I froze him, but I can't do that again. I only broke the rules because my enemy did it and I was allowed. I wont be allowed again"

"You'll always have me" Robin said, "And when the time comes, I'll be ready to help in the fight against that monster" With out another word, the red-haired wonder headed off.


	63. Chorus Of The Bells I

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXIII : Chorus of Bells Pt.1 : A Half Peal of Sorrow**

"God I hate being in that ball" Titan moaned, as Michael released him (and the rest of them) on the ground.

"I was enjoying it" I said, smugly. "Since I don't have one of those awful balls, I was out all"

"NEW FRIEND!" A voice shrieked.

"Oh Christ" I moaned. _Don't let it be her, let it be anyone else but her._

"New friend new friend!" Sharon chirped happily, holding Bane in her hands. She zipped around our group, as the poor Riolu struggled in her crazy-grip. "Have you seen our new friend Shiny?" Sharon asked/screamed, shoving Bane in his face.

"Get that away from me!" Titan snarled. Bane's head snapped forward with Sharon's thrust, and he accidentally banged his head on Titans tin skull.

"I'm not a that!" Bane protested, "I'm a he" Sharon swooped up and over to Michael. She thrust Bane in his face.

"Have you seen new friend?"

"Ah, Sharon you've met Bane" He smiled and gently stroked the scaled skull of the large dragon-fly thing, causing her to coo happily "I don't think he likes it"

"You know nothing!" Sharon cried. Bane was able to twist his body and clobber Sharon in the side of her empty head. She let go of him, and Bane dropped to the ground. "Where did my new friend go?" She spotted Titan. "Shiny!"

"Alright, if you must" As Sharon tackled him, we made it back to the hotel. Louis and Lisa were walking out as we came. Enfer was right behind them. She had a look on her face best described as, Look what I had to put up with all night.

"Oh crap" Michael mumbled, "I doubt I can take any fighting right now"

"Michael" Louis began.

"I swear, if you tell me to kick Lisa out of the group, I'll put my fist through your skull"

"I wasn't" Louis said.

"We wanted to tell you we discussed it, and we've decided not to fight anymore" Lisa said. "We know it's been bothering you" For a brief second their hands touched, but they dropped away just as fast.

"Did you see that?" Flash asked, appearing beside me.

"Where did you…You know, I did!" I said, "You don't think"

"You never know" Flash said. Yeah, I didn't know. With any luck I would keep it that way.

"You decided that?" Michael let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, I don't know how much more of it I could have taken" While they talked, Enfer walked around them and over to me.

"How was your night with the Robin?"

"Awful" I said, "She and Michael almost kissed. Had they though, I would have torn out her throat with my, uh, well they're the closest things I have to fangs" Enfer laughed.

"Today you're training with Michael" Enfer said, "And tonight I have my own program for you"

"Eh, nothing you do scares me" I said.

* * *

"Angela, wake up" We did end up training all day long. After it was over, all of my muscles ached and throbbed. I couldn't even move my tail, it hung limply. I had been paired up with Bane in order to train him. Well, when a normal-type goes up against a fighting type, guess what happens! One fist in-between my eyes, and I was sent flying. After a day of training, he had pummeled me senseless, and no one knew he was a reborn human. For some reason, he was nervous about telling people that.

"I'm not going" I moaned, "To tired, go away"

"You're already there" Enfer whispered in my ear, "You don't have any choice" Sighing, I cracked open one eye.

"What the?!" We were outside of the hotel, maybe outside of the city. I was lying on dirt, and Enfer sat in front of me. Her eyes glowed unnaturally in the moon light, and a cold wind blew across my fur. "How did I get out here?"

"Do you really want an answer?" Enfer asked. "Your training is simple, one-on-one with the opponent I have decided"

"And who has Enfer picked?" Grinning, she moved out of the way to reveal a vibrating pig-monkey thing.

"Oh come on!"

"I'mreadytogo,letsfight" L3 ranted excitedly.

* * *

Enfer eventually lugged the sack of worthless muscles, called my body, back home. L3 had to be knocked out before she could be brought back along.

"So, do you know what you're going to do tomorrow against Norman?" Enfer asked with me in her mouth.

"Yeah, I have a good idea" I mumbled. Somehow Enfer got me to Michaels room, and got her self back to Louis. I passed out almost instantly, although I was afraid I would be woken up again in only a few hours.

Now the day before Michael had gotten his first good nights sleep in over a month. Since he had been woken up early by the pants suit queen, he was still exhausted. So that night he slept, and that morning he slept, until sun light poured through the cracks in the blinds. Finally, something disturbed him, and he cracked his eyes.

"Morning Angel" Michael mumbled, stroking the fur on top of my head. I gave an exhausted Vee. "God, we gotta go do the dang gym today. Well, we've got plenty of time, they close at five and it's" He looked at the clock. "Four thirty in the afternoon. CRAP!"

I've never seen a human so fast before, as Michael rushed around the tiny room waking the other five members of our party up.

"If you put them in balls at night" I called (even though he couldn't hear me), "This wouldn't happen"

"You know, that probably isn't helping" Flash pointed out. After he awoke the last of us (Sharon, who for some reason was hanging upside down to the ceiling) we ran out of the room and over to Louises room. "Wake up! Wake up!" Michael screamed, pounding on the door. The door was opened by a very awake Louis. I could see Lisa laying on the bed, and the TV on.

"Can I help you?"

"We have to go to the gym, right now! I over slept!"

"We saw you asleep" Lisa called, "We chose to leave you alone" Michael sighed, closed his eyes and counted to ten.

"Today is the last Saturday that the gym is open for the year" Michael said, "In half an hour, they close until next year. I'm not leaving until I get a badge, so unless you want to spend the next three weeks in this city, lets get moving!"

As he said this, the sun hung low.

* * *

"I'm here for a gym battle" Michael exclaimed, as we rushed into gym "Don't close". A very tired looking secretary looked up at us.

"Look, we're about to close" She said, pointing at the clock reading 4:55, "Could you?"

"Come back next year? Of course not, you're not closed yet, and the leader has to except" The secretary sighed, murmuring something about not getting paid enough.

"Norman" She said, pressing a button on a speaker on her desk, "Don't leave yet, we've got another challenger"

"WHAT" A growling voice exclaimed, followed by a loud crashing noise.

"Sorry about that" She said, "He smashed the speaker"

"Does he do that a lot?" Lisa asked.

"More often to phones" The woman said. "Challengers go in that door, spectators that door" Lisa and Louis mumbled something about encouragement, Wisp kissed Rush on the muzzle, Pecha ranted, and they headed off.

"Remember every thing you did last night" Enfer whispered, "It may keep you alive" She then left, following close behind the others.

"I wont" I mumbled, as Michael lead us to the challengers door. The door lead to a long hall with lights spread so far apart they didn't light the entire way. The walls were bare, and the floor was polished green tile, reminding me of the green mile. The door leading to the gym was polished steel, with an old fashioned knob.

"Let's go kick some ass" I mumbled.

* * *

Now, Norman's gym focuses on the dullest of all types, normal. If you had to rank all of the types from best to worst, they would fall right in the middle. They're weak only to one thing, while strong to none, and immune to one. While Norman is a normal-type leader, he only trains Slakoth, Vigoroth, and Slaking. Why? I don't know, I'd go with Snorlax or Ursaring since they don't have the worlds stupidest ability.

By now, your starter has evolved into its final form. Swampert and Sceptile are equal at this gym. Neither is particularly good, although Sceptile might be a bit better since it's faster.

You want to go with Blaziken here more then anything else. Being both fast and a fighting-type, it should be able to pummel them senseless. If you move fast enough, Norman's pokemon wont get the chance to exploit the Achilles-heel of the Hoenn starters (piss poor defense).

* * *

Norman's actual gym room was rather plain. All it had was a hard wood floor and two mats (one for the trainer and leader). Their weren't even stands for spectators to sit in. On the wall was a smoking crater that once had been the speaker phone. On the gym leaders mat stood Norman, blood pouring down the knuckles of his left hand.

"Are you the challenger?" He growled.

"Uh yeah" Michael said, "I'm Mic"

"Silence! The sooner we finish, the sooner I leave" Norman roared. "Call your first"

"That is a scary man" I whispered to Titan/Sharon.

"Okay then" Michael said, "Uh Titan, you're up" Titan began to clomp out there, only to have Sharon hold onto his tin shell.

"Shiny no leave!"

"Sharon, please let me go"

"No, don't leave" Sharon whined, "I don't want you to go" Titan sighed, twisted his head, and kissed her. Sharon's eyes went wide, and she slipped off of him.

"Better then I thought" Titan mumbled. Norman unclipped one of three pokeballs.

"Slakoth, now" A Slakoth appeared out on the field. It looked exactly like L3 had in every way, no difference at all.

"Titan, take down" Titan charged at the Slakoth. It didn't even look up to greet him.

"Counter" Norman commanded. The Slakoth glowed red as Titan hit. Titan was sent flying in the opposite direction. He hit the ground hard, cracking the wood as his quarter-ton body made contact.

"Okay, that hurt like hell" Titan moaned, pulling himself out of the crater. In the time it took himself to get out, the one minute that Norman's Slakoth couldn't move was up. In fact, the pig monkeys fist was glowing for some reason.

"Titan, Iron Defense then Metal Claw" Titan's armor flashed for a second, and then he charged. His claws were glowing white, and he drove them into Slakoths back. Slakoths fist though was ready, and it hit Titan hard in the stomach. Focus punch, sent Titan straight into the air. How the hell did that worthless sack of skin push around a four-hundred pound piece of tin?

Titan landed on all fours, took one step, and crumbled. Two hits, both from fighting-type moves, took down Titan.

"Shinny!" Sharon whined.

"Oh would you shut up" I snarled.

"No, they hurt Titan!" My jaw dropped.

"Did you just use his real name?" Tears of rage were beginning to slowly roll down her cheeks.

"Titan, return" Michael said, recalling the collapsed Lairon. "Thank you for your effort" He re-attached the ball to his belt. "Sharon, you're up" Sharon grit her teeth, and nodded. She fluttered out, rage on her face.

"You hurt Titan" She said in a deeper voice, a voice I had never heard. "I'll make you pay" The Slakoth yawned.

"Sharon, dragon-breath"

"Faint attack" Sharon unleashed purple flames from her mouth, which hit the ground right as Slakoth vanished. Sharon twisted her body around, still releasing flames as the Slakoth appeared above her. This time she made contact, and consumed the pig-monkey.

The Slakoth reappeared where she had last been. Michael ordered dig, and Sharon somehow pulled herself under the hardwood. She grabbed Slakoth, and pulled it under as well. Suddenly, it's head emerged from the ground, bleeding and swollen. Out cold, first match ours.

"Return" Norman growled, as Sharon pulled her self out of the ground. She shook some of the dirt off her head. "Vigoroth, now"

Another pig-monkey appeared, this one white and also looking like a clone of L3. That was where the similarities ended though. While Sharon was a speedball with no self-control and the intelligence of a rock, this thing was different. It stood still, and its breathing was carefully controlled. This thing was a honed weapon, and much stronger then L3.

"Sharon, earthquake" Suddenly, the entire ground began to shake, knocking all of us on our side onto the ground. Norman and Vigoroth stood like nothing was happening. No damage to Vigoroth.

"Fury swipes, now" Norman commanded. The Vigoroth lunged at Sharon, swiping its claws rapidly. Sharon twisted her body around the Vigoroth swipes, rewarding the enemy with nothing but air. The two separated and faced each other.

"Sharon, sand tomb" This was a good idea. Almost all of Slakoths attacks are purely physical, get the thing stuck in a small sand storm, it can't do a thing. The only problems are you can't attack with physical attacks either, and the sand-storm lasts from ten to fifty seconds. This time, it only lasted ten. The sand crumbled to the ground, and Vigoroth leapt at Sharon.

"Slash" This attack made contact. Vigoroth elongated claws struck Sharon straight in the chest. Sharon was bleeding now from four very deep slashes on her chest. Her face was contorted in rage, and while she flipped upside down, and fluttered near the ground, she didn't go down.

"That wont stop me" Sharon growled, flipping back up. Little drops of blood fell to the ground. With out being given an order, she slammed into Vigoroth, plowing her entire body into him. Vigoroth fell on its back, and jumped back up like nothing happened.

"Slam" Norman said.

"Sharon, stop it" Vigoroth jumped at Sharon, shoulder extended, ready to knock Sharon out. Sharon grabbed the Vigoroth as it appeared to hit, being pushed back in the air by the sheer force.

"Wont give in" Sharon growled. Outside, the sun had begun to dip bellow the buildings. Sharon lifted Vigoroth above her head, and tossed it straight down. It hit the wood hard, bounced once, and was knocked out. Even knocked out it was stiff as a board.

"Return" Norman said. A man of few words that Norman. Hell, he put Joe Pike to shame. He unclipped the final pokeball on his belt. "Slaking, now"

This was it, the big boy. This was Norman's most famous pokemon, and was famous for putting three pokemon into the grave. The Slaking didn't seem like it was aware of the rest of the world. It didn't even notice Sharon fluttering in front of it.

"Sharon, screech and double team" Sharon let out a loud shriek, before beginning to fly rapidly around Slaking, until it seemed like a thousand of her were flying around. Slaking thrust its log-like arm out, and snatched Sharon out of mid-air.

"Hey, let go of me" Sharon cried, struggling.

"Dragon breath" Sharon unleashed a stream of purple flames, which consumed Slakings head. Sharon continued, until nothing else came. The flames faded to reveal Slaking completely unharmed.

"Hammer arm" Norman said. Slaking lifted its other arm, all the while not looking at Sharon. It slammed its arm over and over again into Sharon, across the slashes on her chest, until blood dribbled out of her mouth.

"Sharon!" Michael cried.

"Brake her" Norman said in an ice cold voice. Slakoth took Sharon's body in its two giant hands. Faster then you could blink, it bent Sharons body ninety degrees, nearly snapping her in two. Sharon let out a gasp as her eyes went wide. Her arm went limp, and Slakoth dropped her to the ground.

"Oh God"


	64. Chorus Of The Bells II

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXII : Chorus Of The Bells II : A Full Peal of Joy**

Michael had unclipped Sharon's pokeball, once Norman's Slaking had begun to use hammer arm. He had raised it, when Norman commanded to break her. He had been about to save her from her fate, but he was just to slow.

Now Sharon was on the ground, her spine bent in a 90 degree angle. Her limbs, even her wings, were completely limp. Blood dribbled out of her mouth, and her eyes were closed. She was barely breathing. Michael as quick as he could, withdrew her into her ball.

"Send out your next pokemon" Michael looked at him like he was insane.

"What the hell is the matter with you? I was trying to call her back, and you broke her spine! What is the matter with you?!"

"Send out your next pokemon" Norman said, completely emotionless, "Or you forfeit"

"We'll take her to the pokemon center" Lisa called. "Toss it to us" Michael tossed Sharon's ball, and Louis and Lisa headed out.

"I'm not forfeiting" Michael growled, "Let's go"

* * *

The first three evolutions of Eevee discovered were Jolteon, Flareon, and Vaporeon. Until they were discovered, Eevee was viewed as completely useless. After they were discovered, well, Eevee is still pretty useless.

Jolteon is the fastest evolution of Eevee. If it weren't for being an evolution of Eevee, Jolteon would be just another easily ignored electric type. Now I know that there are a lot of people who love Jolteon, but I call it like I see it, and Jolteon suck. Its speed is great, its attack is above average, but its defense. Oh God, the defense.

Flareon is a miserable fuck of a fire-type, and it's so sad. It's a fire-type with bad defense, a higher physical attack then special, along with speed and endurance you could laugh at. It can learn lava plume, but takes so long to learn it, most trainers give up. I wish I could say it has potential, but its only potential is as a shield.

Vaporeon is the last of the three, and to be honest, this thing scares me. When Vaporeons mouth is closed, it vanishes. No joke, you touch the area where its mouth should be, you'll feel water. Now Vaporeon can take the most hits of any evolution of Eevee. Aside from that, it's a rather generic water-type. Nothing special, not good or bad.

* * *

"Flash, your up" Michael said. The Ampharos gave a bow (?) and headed out.

"Why not send me out?!" Bane asked. "I'm strong! I'm a fighting type!"

"Yeah, let's send out our only fighting-type, with no battle experience, who is six levels lower then me, into his first gym-battle with a Slaking" I said. "It's smarter to not send you out at all. Sharon was much stronger then you, and that!" I gestured, "Was able to break you in two"

"I look forward to a stimulating and exciting battle" Flash said. Slaking grunted.

"Thunder wave" Michael called.

"Protect and brick-break" Norman commanded. Slaking flashed white, and the thunderwave did nothing. Faster then you could say stop, Slaking chopped Flash in the neck. It then went still, as Truant activated.

Flash fell on his back, trying to breath. He rolled around, grabbing at his throat. Michael ordered a thunder bolt, but Flash had been hit so hard that Truant ended before he could stand up.

"Thunder bolt!" Flash fired, hitting Slaking head on. Electricity coursed over its body, burning its skin slightly. The electricity ended, but the Slaking was still standing.

"Hyper beam" Norman said. Slaking opened its mouth, and fired. A beam of pure energy shot out, and caught Flash in the stomach. He was lifted off of the ground, several feet into the air. Energy surrounded Flash, hitting each inch of his body. The hyper beam ended, and Flash fell out of the sky. He hit the wooden floor hard, head first.

"FLASH?!" Michael, me, and Rush screamed. Flash slowly stumbled to his feet.

"I'm okay" Flash said, "I…I'm not done yet" The Slaking was stiff again, its worthless ability in effect. "It'll take more then that to beat me" The thing is, Ampharos aren't fast, nor do they have a good defense. Slaking are slow and have height attack. It's like a stick of butter meeting a blowtorch.

"Your okay Flash, your okay" Michael said, more for himself then for Flash. "Just…growl then thunder punch" Flash growled, actually a little cutely, and then pulled back his fist that began to crackle with electricity. He swung.

I saw it in slow motion almost. As Flash swung, Slaking raised its arm up, and grabbed Flashes arm. Norman ordered another hammer arm, and Slaking slammed its arm into Flashes head.

Total knock-out.

* * *

Eevee's second discovered Evolutions were Espeon and Umbreon, and honest to God it confuses me how these were the second discovered. These two evolutions happen when an Eevee is ecstatically happy at day or night, and since Eevee are always happy, I have no idea how they never saw one of these evolutions.

Espeon is probably the best evolution of Eevee from an offensive stand point. It's stats are also the best balanced, with high special attack, defense, and speed. If you want to beat this thing quickly though, pull out a dark-type. High special defense or not, it can't take many hits. Also, I would probably never use one simply because, I really like Alakazam.

Umbreon is the opposite of Espeon in every way. If Espeon is the evolution built for offense (its an evolution of Eevee, I use offense lightly), Umbreon is built for defense. This thing can take a hit, and it's a good thing it can, because it's going to get hit. Its to slow to escape from anything, and fighting-type movers are every where. Umbreon is my favorite evolution of Eevee, for obvious reasons.

* * *

Michael just stared as Flash crumbled to the ground. Flash was limp, just like Sharon. His muzzle was crushed, blood dribbling out of his nostrils, eyes swollen shut. I don't think he could have stood up again if he wanted to. Michael pulled out his ball, and withdrew Flash. He mumbled something to the ball, and clipped it to his belt.

"Alright Rush" Michael said, "You're next" Rush kipped affirmatively, and headed out. Norman's face hadn't twitched once since we entered the gym. I don't think he cared that he broke two of my team mates for shits and giggles.

"Yawn" Norman commanded. Slaking yawned, and instantly Rush's eye lids got heavy. In thirty second Rush would be asleep, and he would remain asleep for who knows how long. No time to think about that though.

"Rush, use take down" Rush ran, and hit the Slaking in the chest, causing some damage to himself. He then fell to the ground, asleep. Slaking was still frozen by truant, but that was about to end.

"Flail" Norman commanded. Slaking raised both of his arms, and prepared to crush Rush.

"Got you" Michael said, grinning. "Sleep talk!" Norman raised his eyebrow. The still sleeping Rush opened his mouth, and unleashed a strong water-gun. The force held Slakings arms straight up.

Michael had bought a TM once we entered Petalburg, and used it on Rush. I had been wondering about it, and now I knew. You could teach a Mudkip sleep talk, and it did pay off. The only problem is that sleep talk is like a game of roulette, you never know what'll come up.

Slaking, as soon as truant ended, was ordered to use return. It pulled back its arms.

"Sleep talk!" Rush suddenly shot up, using sleep tackle. He hit Slaking straight in the face, although it seemed to have little effect. The Slaking missed Rush and ended up slamming its ham sized fists into the ground. The ground didn't just crack, Slaking put its fists through the floor. This is usually a sign of a pokemon who really likes their trainer. My only thought was, why?

Rush hit the ground, this time waking up. He yawned, shaking his head to wake up. Norman looked pissed that Rush was still standing. Putting him to sleep wouldn't help. Time to try something else.

"Swagger" Slaking got a strange look on its face, making direct eye contact with Rush. Rush suddenly snapped to attentively.

"Rush, get away and then use mud slap" Rush ran backwards, and ended up tripping over his own four feet. He then used mud slap, and sent himself skidding back to Slaking. Slaking bent over, and picked Rush up.

"Fling" Usually, Fling works depending on whatever hold item you have. Slakings hold item was Rush, and Rush was flung straight down. A cloud of dust came up, and our poor little Mudkip was out cold.

The sun had completely set by now, and the cold moon was high in the sky. The battle had lasted for over an hour by now, and we were loosing.

* * *

At the time that this story took place, their were only two other evolutions of Eevee discovered, Leafeon and Glaceon. I've got absolutely no idea how they discovered these two evolutions. Who said "Gee, you know there's a frozen rock in Sinnoh, and a mossy rock. We should raise Eevee near them and see what happens"

Well Glaceon was the first one discovered. Their isn't much I can say about it, since every thing I said about Espeon is true here. Espeon and Glaceon are statistically the same, except Espeon has better defense and Glaceon is faster. An ice-type evolution of Eevee was, in all honesty, not needed if its defense is low. While ice-type are the second best offensively (they can take down the biggest annoyance type), they're the worst defensively.

Leafeon is the newest discovered evolution of Eevee, and it's been pretty badly screwed. By that I mean, it's the least noticed and second least used form of Eevee. Why? I don't know honestly. Its stats are fine, highest defense of any, and a high attack. It's also pretty fast. Leafeon is my second favorite evolution of Eevee, but I would never use it. I'd use a Sceptile.

* * *

"How is this happening?" Michael asked himself. He unclipped Rush's ball, and withdrew the little Mudkip. Their were only two of us left, the two weakest members of this little crew. Send out Bane, and watch him get flattened. Or send out me and let me try what me and Enfer tried.

"Send out your next pokemon" Norman said.

"Hold on a second"

"Send out your next pokemon, or you forfeit" Asshole. Michael looked down, at Bane and me.

"Bane, I guess your next" Bane prepared to walk onto the field, and I clamped onto his ankle.

"Hey, do you mind? It's my turn to shine!" His eyes went all stray.

"Go out there, and you wont have to worry about Slaking breaking your skull, I'll do it for him" I snarled. I let go, and ran past the Riolu onto the field.

"Angel! Angel, get back here!" Michael cried. He turned to Norman. "This isn't my pokemon, don't tell it to attack"

"Get out your pokeball and withdraw her" Michael grinned nervously. "Do you have a pokeball for her?"

"Well, no"

"Then you can't withdraw her" Norman said. "Swagger" Slaking attempted to make eye contact with me. I gulped nervously, my thoughts racing back to yesterday.

"You want me to fight L3?" I asked, "Your crazy"

"L3" Enfer said, "Attack. Angela, you want out, you take down L3" I propelled my self with quick attack at L3. L3 grabbed me by my ears, flipping me over backwards, and slamming me on my back.

"Okay, you want to play dirty bitch" I growled.

"Letsplayitssofun" L3 chanted. I jumped, trying to use tackle. L3 dropped down, came up, and punched me in my soft stomach.

"Slaking aren't slow, you know that's true. They're average speed, but not slow" Enfer said, "Vigoroth and Slaking share the same weakness. What is it?"

"I don't know" I jumped at her, mouth open, preparing to bite down. L3 smacked me across the face, sending me flying and landing on my side.

"You've tried the hard-headed, bullshit approach" Enfer said, "Try something new. We know you can avoid attacks, but you don't need to do that here. Slaking aren't slow, but they are lazy. They're mostly stationary, and expect pokemon to attack them, and they're usually right"

"So what's the solution?"

"When you use physical attacks, you have to get near them"

"Use non-physical attacks?" I asked. "Actually, they're defense is strong only against physical attacks. So if I use non-physical, hidden power isn't physical" I summoned the white balls of energy from my neck. It hit L3 in the chest, and knocked her on her back, laughing the entire time.

"Attack and dodge" Enfer said, "Just make sure it can't touch you"

The Slakings face was completely void of emotion. It hadn't moved its feet at all. I wondered if it was aware of my existence.

"Swagger"

"Quick attack" Michael commanded. I used quick attack, but not to attack Slaking. I used it to get my ass away from Slaking, by weaving between its legs. Swagger did nothing, and I was now behind it.

"Angel, what are you doing?" I cringed.

_Come on Michael, your smart. What attack should you use? Come on come on_

"I dunno, hidden power?" I grinned. White balls of energy shot out of my neck, striking the Slaking on the back. Slaking moved just the slightest bit, but it was enough for Michael.

"Grab her and use fling" Norman growled. The Slaking began to knuckle walk towards me, as fast as it could. So I did what I did before, used quick attack to get my ass moving. Slaking swung its hand, trying to grab me, but all it got were a few hairs.

"Hidden power!" Once again, this time hitting Slaking in the face. It caused little cuts on its muzzle, but that was more then enough. This gave us hope.

Flash and Sharon had started this, by burning its skin. Rush had continued it, and now I had to finish it. As long as it couldn't touch me, it couldn't hurt me. It was not going to be easy, it would not be fast, but it would be.

After fifteen minutes, I could barely stand up, but I had to. Slaking was swaying back and forth, the little cuts now all over its body. I could see every attack that we had inflicted on this son of a bitch, and it was finally showing. It swung its log like arm at me.

_It's time. _Michael ordered tackle, and I jumped, hitting Slaking in the chest. It groaned in agony, and as I fell to the ground, it grabbed at its cut chest. It stumbled back, and fell hard. When the dust settled, Slakings eyes were closed and its arms were limp.

"We won?!" Michael cried. He laughed, "We won!" I laughed with him.

I was so happy, happier then I'd ever been in my life. This was the hardest battle we had ever been in, and I had finished off what had taken four pokemon to bring down. It was so overwhelming.

I began to glow white. I…

_I was floating. Floating in the blank whiteness. For a second I could see Mew, floating in front of me._

_What's happening? Mew grinned._

_"You've done good Angela, but your journey is not yet done. It's at the half way point, and now it's time to evolve" Mew said, grinning. The white began to fade…_

"Angel?" Michael asked. "Oh my God, Angel" Yeah, I was still Angel, but I felt different. Stronger then I ever had before. I was higher off of the ground, like I had gained three feet of height. I ran my tongue over my teeth, these were fangs.

My ears were actually bigger, and more sensitive if you could believe it. My fur looked so dark, so sleek. The gold rings on my legs shinned in the light. I turned to Michael, staring at him with my new red eyes. I opened my mouth, testing my voice.

"Umbre" Michael grinned.

Fuckin' A.


	65. After The Change

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXV: After the Change**

For some reason the lyrics of Vicious Cabaret were going through my head. I couldn't explain why, but I could hear every line. Usually I only thought of it when I was dealing with someone incredibly stupid (I heard it in my head the second time I saw Dana, another story for a later date). My thoughts were jumbled, I couldn't string any two together.

Evolving is a lot like waking up from a long nap, one you had no idea you were taking. Everything is new, and better then you remember it. Sights are clearer, sounds are crisper, even scents are more noticeable. I could hear Michael's hear beating from several feet behind me. His heart was beating like a snare drum.

If it took me three months the first time to get used to big ears, what would I do with these? Awe fuck.

My fur was thinner, Umbreon fur is short but silky. It's appearance is supposed to be dark and sleek, which is exactly how I felt. Darker then night, so fucking awesome.

"Angel, you evolved! Oh Christ, oh Christ this is fantastic!" Michael cheered. I turned, took one step, and tripped over my new, elongated legs. Okay, you grow by two feet, and see how well you can walk.

I ended up flipping onto my back, pinning my new, longer tail under me. A light was now directly above me, and the light hurt my eyes. A lot more then it did when I was a useless puffball. I maneuvered my new weight so I was able to get back on all fours.

My body felt so much stronger, which is ironic since Umbreon is a defensive pokemon. I had to remind my self which foot to move all over again, and I had to use my tail to balance. Unlike before, I was able to re-learn to walk rather quickly, and I only fell one other time as I made it over to Michael. Before I reached him though…

"This was my time to shine!" Bane cried. Oh fuck. "I've not gotten a chance to battle in a gym battle. It was time for the spot light to shine on me!"

"Touch me" I said, "I'll hit you with a shadow ball, and light you up like a Christmas tree" Bane gulped, and I moved on.

Michael picked me up and brought me up to his face. He was ecstatically happy, and it had nothing to do with the battle we had just won. Their were tears of joy in the corners of his eyes. He kissed me on the muzzle.

"Angel, you won it for us. You liked me enough to evolve" Now I was grinning, as only an Eev-er-Umbreon could. "And you!" Michael's face turned to rage, as he faced Norman. "You oh me a badge. You broke two of my pokemon, I earned my badge, I want my badge!" Norman scowled. He reached into his pocket, threw a small metal object on the floor, and got out of the gym as fast as he could.

Asshole.

Michael looked at the badge for a second, before slipping it into his pants pockets. You know, most people display their badges with pride, but Michael always kept his in his pocket. Odd.

"Come on, let's get to the pokemon center" Michael said. "We've got Sharon who needs us, and three friends who desperately need a rest"

* * *

"Alright, just wait in here" The nurse said, "While we look over your Vibrava" Her orange hair was frazzled, and her uniform was messed up, a sign of the quality of her work. She lead Louis, Lisa, and their pokemon into an empty examination room.

"It's not our Vibrava" Louis said. The nurse sighed. Their were heavy circles under her eyes.

"Did you kidnap it?"

"No" Lisa said, "Actually, it belongs to my friend. You see, he"

"Please shut up" The nurse griped, "I'm not paid to care" Mumbling something under her breath, she walked out of the room, leaving the rest alone.

"I'm not giving up pot" First words out of Louises mouth.

"Louis, we've been over this already, doing drugs is illegal. I'm willing to put up with the drinking, the strip clubs (because Michael needs to loosen up), and the smoking if it weren't pot. In fact, I would kill for a smoke right now"

"Why are they talking about this?" Nel asked. "Lisa…scares me"

"Please don't insult my trainer" Wisp said, "I don't like it"

"I thought you didn't like your trainer!" Wisp shrugged.

"Didn't like Robin. She was an airhead, always left me in my ball. Lisa's been hurt badly, I know pain."

"I like you" Nel said.

"…Fascinating"

"Do you like me?!" Pecha asked, suddenly butting it. "I demand you like me!"

"Well, uh" All of Nel's fur suddenly stood up on end. "Please don't hurt me, I didn't do anything to you"

"If our trainers hook up, it could be a good strategic move for me. I could use you to help me conquer Poland, Australia, and the world! Then Rush will love me! New Chu Order! New Chu Order!" Pecha cried, thrusting both of her arms up.

"Please shoot me" Wisp mumbled.

Enfer was silent during all of that. Staring at the door, almost wishing it to open. She knew what that Slaking had done to Sharon. Snapped her like a dusty twig. What if he…no, she couldn't think about that now.

"Whatareyouwaitingfor?!" L3 asked, appearing behind Enfer.

"Stuff, Angel" Enfer said. Calling her Angela wouldn't make sense to L3. Actually, nothing made sense to L3, but how could Enfer know that?.

"Iknowhowyoufeel,ifIwerewaitingformychildI'dgocrazyto!" Enfer's jaw dropped so fast the floor cracked.

"How do you know Angel is my child?! You can't even remember what you had for breakfast this morning"

"IjustknowbecauseIknowduh" L3 ranted. The Slakoth became more and more of a mystery each and every day.

"So do you know…"

"Thatyouwerebothhumanonce?Yeah" Enfer nodded. Then that meant Rush, Flash, and L3 all knew, and they each figured it out on their own. The new Riolu in their group Enfer wasn't sure of, she hadn't gotten to even see the thing yet. Suddenly, the door opened.

"Guess who just won Balance Badge!" Michael exclaimed as he walked in. Lisa and Louis jumped up, followed by their pokemon. Rush and Titan were now out beside me and Bane. Rush Titan, and I had taken a quick ride on the psychedelic dream-machine, and we were all fine now. Flash had been given over to the nurses, after his skull had been virtually smashed to bits.

"My God you did it" Louis said.

"My God, Angel!" Now they all looked at me, except Bane.

"I knew their was something different about you" Rush said, "Just couldn't put my paw on it" Titan and I both sighed.

"You evolved!" Enfer exclaimed. "I..I uh, wow. My gosh, and Umbreon" She smiled, and I could see tears of happiness in her eyes. "It seems perfect for you"

"Does no one notice me?!" Bane cried.

"Who is this?" Enfer asked. "Hi, I'm Enfer, we haven't gotten a chance to" Their eyes locked.

"Great, while they're doing that" Nel came over to me, timidly.

"Angel, you evolved into an Umbreon….it's nice?!"

"Nel"

"Don't kill me!" She exclaimed. I sighed.

"Not going to kill you Nel. As much fun as it would be, not going to kill you" I said. "Why are you scared?"

"Umbreon are scary, they're all dark. Why can't they be bright and shiny and happy?"

"You want bright? Go talk to Rush" I said, moving past Nel. Pecha suddenly jumped in front of me.

"So you evolved cursing Umbreon? This means good things for Pecha and all of Chu kind" I sighed.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You're now stronger, I demand you help me lead a rebellion of all pokemon in this city so they can over-throw the oppressive human regime! Then Rush will love me!" Pecha exclaimed, thrusting her arms in the air.

"You would make a cute Raichu" Her arms dropped.

"Raichu suck! Raichu should be banned!" I nodded sarcastically.

"You know, why not tell me just why Raichu suck, in extreme detail" As Pecha began to rant, I returned to the rest of the group. They were talking to Bane, except Titan, whose head was in the clouds.

"I never even got a chance to battle" Bane said, over dramatically. "I'm glad Angel got to evolve, but I don't enjoy being upstaged. When I was human I was a dancer"

"You were human?" Wisp asked. Bane gritted his teeth.

"Did I say I was done?" Wisp shut her mouth.

"I was a dancer. The spot light had always been on me, and I like to be noticed. I need to be noticed!" I hear a twinge of desperation in his voice as he said this.

"I'm sorry if I upstaged you" I said, wondering who talked like that, "But at that point in time the clocks outside were all striking seven, I just wanted to"

"The lights go out and I can't be saved" Bane suddenly cut in. We all looked at each other.

"What?"

"Tides that I try to swim against have brought me down upon my knees" Bane seemed powerless to stop. Oh I beg, I beg and plead singing" We waited for Bane to finish up singing. "Oh thank heaven that's done"

"What the hell was that?" I cried. Bane looked at us, his blue fur twinged red with embarrassment.

"When ever I hear the name or lyrics of a song I know, even if it's out of context, I have to sing the lyrics to it. I can't help it, it's compulsive"

"Really?" Bane nodded. "Mad World"

"All around me are familiar faces" Bane began, as I fell on my ass laughing.

"That was cruel" Enfer said. I stuck out my tongue at her, and turned to Titan.

"We are going to have so much fun with this" I said to Titan, only to notice he was still not paying attention. "Titan, something wrong"

"Sharon" He mumbled.

"Sharon? What about her?"

"They said" He gulped. "They said" As Titan stumbled through basic conversation, talk from Michael, Louis and Lisa began to drift from Michael's gym battle to the state of Sharon and Flash.

"So what did they say about Sharon?" Michael asked, slumping against the wall. He was not looking forward to the news. Louis and Lisa looked at each other.

"Why don't you tell him" Louis said. Spineless bastard.

"Thanks Louis" Lisa snarled. She turned to Michael. "They said things aren't good for Sharon. Her spine was broken completely. Even if they did manage to heal her back, she might be paralyzed"

"And what did they say to do about that?"

"They said" Lisa gulped. "They said the best thing to do would be to have her put to sleep. They said there is one other thing they could do, but it's risky and the best thing to do would be to euthanized her" Michael's eyes went wide.

"Why don't you tell us about Flash" Louis said.

"Skull completely smashed in the front, they're bolting the pieces into place and we have to stay here for three weeks for the bones to heal" Michael slid to the ground. I ran over, but he barely noticed me. I climbed into his lap, and he unconsciously began to stroke my fur.

"Michael?" He looked up.

"I'm not having Sharon put to sleep" First words out of his mouth. "I don't care what the second option is, I don't care how expensive it is, I don't care if I have to give my blood for it, that's what we'll do for Sharon. What is it?"

"They didn't say" Louis said, "Since neither of us are her trainer, we couldn't get any information or approve any treatment" Michael nodded again. "Dude, I promise I'll pay for any treatment, no matter how expensive, okay?"

"Thanks" Michael stood back up, still holding me. They went over to the seats in the room and waited. Night came and went, and the next morning we were still waiting without news or updates. Michael looked worried, but Titan just looked destroyed. Finally, around one in the afternoon, the door opened again.

"Alright we got your Ampharos, every one be happy" The nurse said. Flash was on a gurney, unconscious. Two screws were sticking out of his skull, with bandages wrapped around the top. He smelled like disinfectant. The nurse smelled like cigarettes and her breath reeked of scotch.

Michael stood up, and insanely big grin on his face. He stroked Flash on the back, down to the tip of his tail. Flash barely stirred. He gave off a dim flash of electricity. Michael turned to the nurse.

"Where is my Vibrava?" The nurse scowled.

"Do I look like I know? She'll be along eventually, that's all you need to know" The nurse walked off, mumbling something about not being paid enough.

"Bitch" Lisa said.

"Forget about her" Michael said, "Flash is okay, and Sharon is" The door opened again, and another gurney was wheeled in by a male nurse and a doctor. Sharon was here.

Sharon was bandaged from the waist down, and confined to a metal contraption. Wires held her off of the ground, attached to a metal ring around her waist. They kept her wings fully extended and her head raised. Her arms were drooped as far as they could go. The nurse was also wheeling an IV drip along with Sharon. It was attached to a hole in her small arm.

"Are you the trainer?" The doctor asked. She was tall and bony, with steel-gray hair tied up in a bun, and square framed glasses. She was holding a clip board. For some reason she was wearing a sweater, even though it was ninety degrees outside.

Sweaters in Hoenn are like wings on a Golem.

"Yeah, I am" Michael said, "What can you tell me about Sharon?" The doctor sighed.

"She's not in good shape. We've got her spine back, but her mobility may be gone permanently. Further tests are needed. She may have lost the ability to fly, we believe her arms will be fine though. If your Vibrava can't fly, their will be massive problems"

"Such as?" The doctor sighed.

"She wont be able to battle, won't be able to move. You'll have to feed her if I'm wrong about her arms. She will be completely incontinent, you'll have to take care of that. Her internal organs may have been affected worse then I originally suspected, further tests are required for that also. Her life span is unpredictable, seizures are a strong possibility, as is blood clotting. My recommendation is have her put to sleep. She will feel no pain" Michael shook his head.

"Not an option, what are the other choices?" The doctor smiled at this. I think she was encouraged by Michael's devotion.

"There is one other option is we give her a treatment of biotin and cobalamin"

"The chemicals found in Rare Candy?" Michael asked. "Why?"

"How do you know what those chemicals are?" Louis asked.

"I'll explain later"

"Yes, those are found in Rare Candy. They can endues level growth, and in high enough doses, evolution" Now it was beginning to make sense. "When a pokemon evolves, their body essentially remakes its self. No matter what damage they have taken, they will be healed. If we endues evolution on Sharon, she would be healed from paralysis. Their might be other problems"

"Which are?"

"For the first several months after it, your Vibrava's blood would be more prone to clotting, we could give you some blood thinners for that. There is a seventy-five percent chance of the treatment causing a heart attack. The stress from evolving could endues a stroke. The treatment is extremely expensive, and it will take a couple of weeks to get the compounds"

"I don't care" Michael said. "Do it" The doctor nodded. She handed the clip board to Michael, who sighed it three times. The doctor and nurse then left. Michael turned his attention to Sharon. Her eyes were closed and her breathing labored.

"She'll be fine" Lisa said.

"I'll pay for every thing" Michael nodded.

"Sharon, I hope you can hear me. I forbid you to die. Do you hear me, I for" His mouth went dry. "You've gotta live Sharon"

You've just got to.


	66. Evolve Or Die

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXVI: Evolve or Die**

The next three weeks passed quickly, and the old year went with it. The new year came, but none of us noticed. We were preoccupied by Flash who had to have the bolts in his skull tightened, and Sharon who had to have over six machines monitor her.

Michael only left to eat or go to the bathroom. He was obsessing, as he always did when ever one of us was sick. Flash had to have electricity drained from his body regularly, so the bolts in his head didn't shoot lightning bolts off. Sharon had to have her body rotated since her lower body was now paralyzed.

Today they removed the bolts from Flash's skull, leaving him bandaged up. The Rare Candy liquid also arrived today, and today Sharon would undergo treatment. Today Sharon would either live or die.

"We've tested her blood pressure, heart rate, every thing is fine" The doctor said, reassuring Michael one last time, "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"Hook her up" The doctor nodded, and an orderly (one of two in the room) removed Sharon's empty IV bag with a new, full one. This one was different though, while the liquid in it was clear, it shimmered without light. Sharon was unconscious, as the liquid moved down the tube and into her arm. A smile appeared on her insect like face. The two orderlies began to disassemble the metal contraption, and gently place Sharon on the table.

"We have to have her free from all confinement" The doctor said, "Once your Vibrava evolves, she would smash it anyways. After evolution" The doctor handed Michael two pill bottles, "You'll have to give her one of both of these every day. The blood thinners will keep her from clotting, keep giving them to her until the bottles run out. Do not have her battle until they run out"

"Alright, these are the blood thinners, and these are" Michael's eyes scanned the label. "Digitalis!? You're kidding me, this'll give her a heart attack!"

"She has just as much of a chance of her heart stopping or a heart attack killing her, those will help regulate her heart beat. There are eight weeks of pills in that bottle, do not miss a single pill" She said sternly.

"I wont" Michael replied. The doctor nodded.

"We'll be back when she evolves" The doctor and orderlies then finally left us alone. Michael sighed, and stood up. He walked over to Sharon and stroked her across her back, down to her tail.

"I didn't want to be a trainer" He said suddenly, getting all of our attention.

"Dude?" Louis said, jerking awake. He had been passed out, a large drool stain on the shoulder of his shirt, and a terrified Nel in his arms.

"What do you mean Michael?" Lisa asked.

"I wanted to study chemistry and medicine" Michael continued, "And go into medical research"

"Now that's just stupid" Louis said, "What kid grows up saying they want to mix chemicals every day?"

"A kid who comes from a family with a lot of sickness, a family with a lot of birth defects" Michael said, a snarl in his voice. "A kid who watched his grandfather die of cousin. A kid who was born with a twin he never met, because his twin was born with a hole the size of a nickel in his heart" Louis and Lisa looked at each other.

"You had a brother?" Lisa asked.

"You were talking about your self, right dude?" Michael sighed at this.

"No Louis, I wasn't. You are mistaken" On that snarkey note, he returned his attention to Sharon.

"Did you know that about Michael?" I gave a jump, and turned to see the bandaged up Flash. My new giant ears could hear dew drip from a blade of grass a mile away, yet somehow they missed 135 pound electric thing that snuck up behind me.

"Where did you….You know what, never mind. What did you mean?"

"Did you know that was Michael's life dream?" Flash asked.

"Well, no. Why should I have?" He shrugged.

"You once told me that Michael was your trainer who was in love with you. Yet you don't listen to him, you ignore him, you can be self-absorbed at times. Seeing as you've been recovering from your own suicide, the last is easy to ignore, but the first two? It's just odd" The Ampharos turned and moved away, leaving me with an unsettled feeling in my stomach. I ignored it though, and went over to the group sitting at the base of the table and staring up at Sharon.

"You know who she reminds me of" Wisp said suddenly. We all turned to her (Wisp starting a conversation was big news).

"Who?" Rush asked.

"My sister" Wisp smiled. "My younger sister. She was so innocent, so adorable. Sharon reminds me of her, she was free spirited"  
"You had a sister? What was her name" Wisp smiled slowly.

"I'll tell you some other time" I then noticed our tin-ton pervert, Titan. He was staring up, with out making a noise. His eyes though, holy crap, they were tearing up. Every so often he would blink rapidly to push them back, but he was definitely about to cry. I stood up and walked over to him.

"Hey" Titan's head suddenly jerked attentively. "You okay?" He looked at me for a quick second, then back to the table. "She'll be okay you know. I guarantee it" Titan laughed.

"Angel, have you ever taken one look at someone and said, if this is the pokemon I'll spend the rest of my life with I'll kill my self"

"Of course not! What's the matter with you?" Titan continued, ignoring my discomfort.

"Have you ever then noticed you don't mind that pokemon? That their cheerful personality has begun to rub off on you, and that since they can see happiness in even the most dark of situations, they make you happy? That you soon realize that you can't imagine not having them pick you up or gnaw on your tin skull?"

"Of course not" I said, "I don't have a tin skull"

"I can't go on with out her Angel" Titan said. "I only recently realized just what she means to me. She makes me happy, to the point where I can't say any thing stupid to her. I could live with only having sex sometimes, as long as with it was with her" I sighed.

"That is the sweetest, most perverted, asinine, lovable thing I've ever heard. It's the only time I've both been amazed and disgusted at once" Titan didn't hear me though, his eyes were blank.

"What happens to us Angel? When we die? What do you think happens?" Titan smiled slowly. "I was told we get reincarnated as humans. Would Sharon still like me as a human?"

"Believe me" I said, "You don't want to ask me about the after life. I was raised a Wallyite. My parents said when I die I end up in a cubicle" Lousy fuckers. "I'm sure Sharon would still love you as a human, assuming she's willing to put up with your come ons and perpetual hard on"

"I would save my self for her" I burst out laughing at this, falling on my side. I know I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it.

"Titan, you'd do it with any one who gave you the time of day"

"It's an act!" Titan yelled suddenly. I could hear his heart beating through his tin chest. He closed his eyes and calmed down. "I don't care about sex. Do you think I care as much as I pretend I do? Ha!"

"Then why pretend?" I asked. "What possible reason could you have for this?" Titan laughed slowly.

"I wasn't noticed by my first trainer. I wasn't noticed by any pokemon in that damn cave. I'm barley noticed in this group! So when I first saw you, I knew I was going to get captured, I'm not good enough in battle. I decided to try something new, something to get noticed"

"Hitting on me?" He nodded.

"People notice a pervert. People try to ignore a pervert, but they can't. They can't help but notice me. I need to feel noticed, it makes me feel special"

"Titan…That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my entire life" I said. "I heard the leader of Hoenn explain why he got caught in a hotel with a male hooker, and this still tops that"

"I know you think I'm stupid" Titan said. "Sharon though, Sharon wasn't like that"

"Sharon noticed you without you having to act all pervy?" Granted, she noticed him because he was shiny, but she noticed him on his own. With out him having to be pervy or having to show off.

"She liked me, no matter what I did. I hit on her, she hugged me. I called her a bitch, she gnawed on my skull. I couldn't do anything to shake her" Titan said. "She became so important to me, and I can't live with out her. I need to see her live"

"I can guarantee she'll survive" I said. Titan sighed.

"How?" I grinned, now it was time for me to shine.

"Not Meowth, get your butt out here!" Titan looked at my like I was crazy.

"Who are you talking to?"

"Not Meowth" I retorted, "If he would get his furry ass out here"

"Theirs no one else h" Titan froze, signaling the arrival of a certain time-traveling, dimension warping feline.

"You rang" Not Meowth said, appearing before me.

"Yeah, I need your help" I said. "I know of another of your kind, a Milotic creature"

"You call her Not Milotic. Yes, I know of her" Not Meowth looked sick even mentioning her. "She and I are not on the best of terms. I don't like you talking to her"

"It's not like she decided to drop in for visits! Irrelevant, irrelevant. Not Milotic once warped reality so I never died. She brought Rush back from the dead"

"Don't remind me about that" Not Meowth said crossly.

"Okay, I wont" Odd. "What I want to know is can you do the same for me. Can you warp reality so that Sharon's back was never broken? I just want her to live" Not Meowth sighed. He came over beside me, shaking his head.

"Angela, every person, every pokemon, every living creature has a time at which they're destined to die. Changing that will throw every thing out of wack. If one life is saved by supernatural forces, then another life must be taken to fill the void"

"So that means"

"If it's Sharon's time to die, then she must die" I growled.

"That isn't fair! When Rush was revived, no one else in our group died. Their was no void to fill!" Not Meowth laughed at me, smug SOB.

"That's what you think. When you revived Rush that way, a shock wave went out. You remember that kid Sam from Mauville?"

"The one with the reborn older siblings? Yeah, his brother was killed by that monster in the woods. His sister lived"

"That's what you think" Not Meowth said. "His brother David did die that night, but since you revived Rush, reality was changed so his sister Miranda also died" My jaw dropped open. "The Milotic creature can not do the things it claims. You see, that Milotic is a liar and trickster. It can't warp reality, only create illusions. It can't create new life, all it can do is take life from one vessel and put it in another. She will come to you and offer her services if Sharon dies, but only after Sharon dies. Not before"

"Because she can't heal, only create illusions"

"Exactly. She is an agent of chaos, her only goal is to see all human and pokemon united in misery and suffering" Not Meowth said, "Never trust her. If she offers to save Sharon, all it will lead to is suffering"

"I can do that. I do need to know something else though…" I gulped. "Mew came to me when I evolved"

"Really?" Not Meowth said with some surprise, "Tell me, how is the ambiguously gendered feline?"

"Fine" I growled, "Forget about him/her. Mew said something that really unnerved me" Yeesh, just thinking about it made my blood run cold. "Mew said I had lived out half of my second life, and in seven months, I would die" Not Meowth sighed.

"Mew really shouldn't have done that, legendaries aren't supposed to tell the mortals when their death is. I find it really messes with them"

"Not the point!" I said. "Umbreon live a lot longer then a year"

"Umbreon on average live for fourteen to eighteen years" Not Meowth said. "But you will die in less then seven months. Poison has already entered your system Angela, it eats away at you. You will depart this wold" My heart began to race.

"You said that a life could not be saved by any force of the supernatural. Can it be saved any other way?" Not Meowth closed his eyes.

"A life can only be saved by an act of absolute selflessness. Then no life has to be taken"

"So to save my self, I have to do something absolutely selfless? I don't get it, what does that mean?" Not Meowth sighed.

"Good-bye Angela, congrats on evolving" Not Meowth vanished.

"-ere Angel" Titan said. I drooped my head.

"Yeah" I said, " No one" Suddenly, all of the machines above us, attached to Sharon, began to beep like crazy. We all looked up, and Sharon's eyes shot open.

"Oh boy, it's time" Michael said. The door to our room suddenly open, and the doctor with and orderly rushed in.

"Hold her down" The doctor ordered, as Sharon began to shake like a paint mixer. She started, then stopped glowing. The orderly held her down, and she started again. This time it took.

Sharon's wings must have doubled in size, as they took on an odd rectangle shape. Her tail grew much longer, until it hung over the table. The rectangle things appeared on its tip. Horns grew out of the back of her head, or something like that. That was all I could see from where I was seated. Finally the glow faded, and Sharon had evolved.

"Oh Christ, she made it" Michael said, grinning. He took her clawed hand in his own. "Hey Sharon, how do you feel" She opened her goggled eyes for a second, and closed them just as quickly.

"She's completely stable, all vitals normal" The doctor said. "We'll have to do some more tests, but she has survived the evolution process" Michael and all of laughed ecstatically. Titan looked up at Sharon so happy, happy beyond words. I did see something else though in his look.

Envy.


	67. Heading Home

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help**

**LXVII : Heading Home**

We all have things we regret. Decisions that if we went back in time, we would have no hesitation about changing. For me, the obvious one would be reversing my suicide. Of course, we saw the world where I didn't kill my self, not the most pleasant of places.

Louis would change driving his ice cream truck into a swimming pool. Lisa would change having an abortion. Michael though, for him their were several.

Michael regretted putting Sharon in battle with Norman. He regretted not kissing Robin (although he wouldn't tell any one that). He regretted not telling me how he felt before I died. Finally, he regretted running away from home without resolving his problems with his parents.

Two of them he couldn't change. One he wondered if changing it would be a bad thing. The last one though he could change, which lead him to utter those words.

"We need to head to Littleroot" It was our last night at the pokemon center. It had been two days since Sharon evolved, and now Michael was planning our course for the next few days.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Louis asked.

"We need to go to Littleroot, I need to go" Michael said with no hint of emotion.

"That's the opposite direction of Fortree" Lisa said. "It's a waist of time to go there"

"I said I needed to go. If you two want to go onto Fortree, you're free to leave. I never twisted your arms about coming"

"No dude, we'll go with you" Louis said, "But why do you need to go there?" Michael sighed.

"I need to talk to my parents. When I left home, I left in the middle of the night without saying good-bye. Louis you know this, I showed up on your doorstep at two a.m. Speaking of which, what were you doing up then?" Louis giggled.

"Believe me dude, you don't wanna know" We all cringed at that.

"Regardless, I ran away without saying a thing. They have no idea what happened to me, and I'm sure they've looked"

"What makes you say that?" Michael shrugged.

"I just know. They wanted to take Angel away from me, they wanted me to go into therapy, and at the time I couldn't have that. My entire world had been smashed to pieces, I couldn't deal with them. I've put the pieces back together, and now I'm strong enough to face them"

"What if they tell you not to go?" Lisa asked, "They're still your parents, they could keep you home"

"I turned seventeen last June" Michael said, "Legal emancipation in Hoenn is seventeen. They can't keep me, not if they tried. I doubt that they'll stop me from going off to finish my journey"

"You can't possibly know that" Louis said. Michael grinned.

"Sure I can. I can always just know" With that, the discussion was closed, and the next day we would be headed off to Littleroot town.

Boy was that a mistake.

We were told to keep Sharon in her pokeball when traveling, which was something she obviously wasn't looking forward to.

"I don't like the ball" Sharon whined to us, as the sun came up the next day. She had jolted us awake by complaining for the last hour. "It's cramped, and it hurts to go into it"

"You need to stay in there" Titan said, "Only when we're traveling. You'll be fine. You can let go of me" Even in her weakened state, Sharon was able to hold Titan off of the ground with one arm. "Please let go of me"

"I can't go in there, nothing shiny, all dark. It's horrible"

"Shut up" I snarled from Michael's lap, trying to sleep. "Going into the damn ball isn't the end of the world"

"How would you know?" Flash asked. I could have sworn he was asleep. "You don't have one"

"Bite me" Thirty minutes later Michael was awake, along with Louis and Lisa. Rush was still asleep, but Rush could sleep through a bomb raid. The orderly's had removed every tube from Sharon, detached every machine. Michael held out Sharon's pokeball.

"Ready Sharon?" She sighed.

"Please don't, I hate it!" Michael ignored her protests, and Sharon was pulled into the ball in a flash of red. I looked sympathetically to Titan, but he completely ignored me. As we left the pokemon center, I noticed Michael had my book out and not in his bag. Apparently I wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Is their any reason you have that out?" Lisa asked.

"I'm thinking of pitching it in a dumpster. When I got this, it reminded me of Angela, the girl I loved, all of the things I loved about her. It doesn't do that anymore though"

"What does it make you think about?" Michael shrugged.

"Every time I pull it out, it feels like a damn albatross. I barely pull it out anymore, and when I do it reminds me of how obsessed Angela got before she died. I don't want to remember her like that"

"So dump it in the trash"

"That's the problem. I've tried to get rid of it, but I can't do it. When the time comes to get rid of it I'll know" As we walked through the streets of the city, the window to an apartment one hundred feet above us opened. A green egg with black lines and dots fell out of it. As if guided by some unknown force, it landed in Michael's nearly empty bag with a plop. It was noticed only by Trish (Who was flying forty feet above us, watching) and I'll get back to it later. I weaved my way through Michael's legs, and went over to Bane.

"So, were you from Littleroot?" Bane laughed.

"Please, I wasn't even from Hoenn. I would never willingly live in this cultural waste dump" Their was an edge of insincerity in his voice, but I didn't call him on it. "I came from the cultural center of the world!"

"Celadon City?" He frowned.

"Hearthome City, Sinnoh" Bane snarled.

"Really? Because if I had to pick a cultural center of the world. Hearthome wouldn't be in my top hundred choices. How the fuck did you end up here?"

"You know how it works. I died when I fell, broke my leg, and got an infection" I didn't believe him, but let it pass, "One of the legendaries gave me a chance to come back, forgot which, and I took it"

"Was it Giratina, Arceus, Mew?" Bane thought about it.

"I dunno, they were big. Anyways, they brought me back as the child of a female Lucario, part of a tribe of them here in Hoenn"

"Lucario don't live in Hoenn" I said, "They only live in Sinnoh, primarily Iron Island" Bane gulped. "How did you get, just out of curiosity?"

"I…I would really rather not say" Bane replied. "I just kind of ended up here" Yeah, and I just kind of ended up an Eevee. I sighed, and walked away from him. Behind me, I heard wing flapping.

"Congratulations on evolving" Trish said, fluttering above me. I sighed.

"What do you want Trish?"

"Can't a friend come just come to talk?"

"No!"

"Well I did" She said, sticking out her tongue. "By the way, did you know there is an Ampharos beside you?"

"What?" I turned to the left to see Flash. "Wah! Where on earth did you come from?!"

"Greetings Angela, whose your friend?" He nearly gives me a heart attack, but does he care? No, of course not. Christ I hate him.

"The name is Trish" She said, "And you must be Flash. You know, the name fits you, I blinked and there you were. By the way, how do you move so fast?" Flash laughed.

"Sorry, my secret. I must admit though, I get a slightly sadistic pleasure from messing with Angela"

"I prefer this method" Trish said. With that she swooped down and scooped me up, lifting me off of the ground.

"Let the fuck go of me!" I cried. "Let me go!" Trish shrugged (As only a bird can) and pitched me onto my side. "Great, thanks"

"You never treat me with any respect" Trish replied, "I could have dropped you on your head, but did I? No, of course not"

"Angela, be more respectable to your friends" Flash replied.

"Friend? I freed her from her cage, and she lifted me off the ground in the Rustburo tunnel!" Flash was fixated on Trish though.

"So, how long have you been following us?" Trish smiled (which was actually quiet effective, despite her beak).

"Since I was, well, freed. You people make the best entertainment. I'm amazed no one noticed me. I'll admit, it is fun being a voyeur to your messed up soap opera"

"It is a lot of fun to watch them from the outside" Flash said. "Of course, it's a bit hard for me to be in a group"

"Because you're so used to being an outsider?" Trish asked.

"Exactly" Flash said. "When you're an outsider, on the plus side you get to see how people and pokemon act"

"But on the minus you're really lonely?" Flash nodded. "Well I must say"

"We're here!" Louis said, as we entered Oldale Town, the last stop before Littleroot. Trish gulped.

"I gotta go, when you get to close to people, they try to capture you" She smiled at Flash. "See you around" Flash blushed bright red under his yellow fur. Trish soared way up above us.

"She reminds me of you" Flash said, "But in a good way. We should have her around more often"

"Why on earth would we want that?" The grass and dirt we had been walking on turned to cement and asphalt.

"Do we need to do anything here?" Lisa asked.

"I'd like to stop by my house" Louis said, "Haven't been there in seven months. I wonder if the ice cream truck is still in my garage" Lisa looked at him, Michael laughed.

"Ice cream truck in your garage?" Louis nodded.

"Stole one from work after they fired me. It wasn't even my fault, I can't be held responsible for what I do in my truck when I'm drunk!"

"How do you afford a house on an ice cream truck drivers salary?" Louis shrugged.

"Played the stock market" We arrived at Louises house, only to see it looked the exact same as before. The paint peeling off of the walls and door, only one shudder barley hanging on, all of the windows coated in dust. The front lawn was littered with beer cans and broken glass. It crinkled as we walked through it.

The mail box was completely destroyed from when Louis hit it with his car, driving in drunk. Enfer whistled as we made out way to the front door.

"I spent many a miserable night in this house" She said. "My place to sleep was the worn out spot on the couch, where Louis once set it on fire after accidentally pouring a bottle of vodka on himself and trying to light a cigarette. I remember another time where Louis stumbled into the room, before throwing up and passing out in it. I had to pull him away, or else he would drown in it. Fun times"

"Boo hoo, I did that all the time with the drunken Duncans" I retorted. "Once I had to drive their car out of the front lawn. I was six" Enfer grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry about that" Louis looked at the rotten front door.

"Awe fuck, I forgot to bring my key, we're locked out" Louis pulled his leg back. "Oh well, I've always wanted to do this"

"Louis, if you don't have your key" Michael asked, "How did you pull the dead bolt, or turn the lock?" Louis kicked the door, and his leg went through it. He stumbled and went through it, turning it into splinters. "…Never mind"

"Look, I've got mail" Louis landed on a seven month pile of mail. We made our way into the house, Nel jumping straight onto Louises head.

"So dirty, IT WONT HURT ME!" She cried. Lisa bent down and picked up a bank statement.

"And Mr. Louis Adalian is worth" Her eyes went big. "T-two point seven million!?" Now we all looked up.

"Hey! That's private"

"How are you worth all of this money?!" Louis shrugged.

"I told you I played the stock market. My dad gave me some money, I bought a bunch of Silph co. stocks, and I sold them short"

"When it came out that Team Rocket had been using Silph co." Michael said, "The stock went from being worth two grand, to being worth change. Since you sold short….Oh crap"

"That money I gave to some investment banker, who sends me those stupid statements all of the time. It's always some new investment that paid off big, but do I care? I used it to buy a house, that's it. Who needs money, it isn't important"

"Money is the most important thing ever!" I cried.

"Even Pecha agrees" Pecha cried. She looked up at Nel. "Scared Skitty, I demand your help"

"W-w-w-why?"

"Pecha needs financing! You can manipulate stoned human into financing my army. New Chu Order! New Chu Order"

"Wouldn't using human money to finance a revolution make you a hypocrite?" Pecha paused.

"New Chu Order!" Of course.

"Come on, let's go" Louis replied. We should have pointed out leaving a door smashed was a bad idea, but you know what, Louis was one walking bad idea.

The last time we were on Route 101, it was the middle of the night and we were running from Littleroot. I was running from my suicide.

The route was empty of trainers. No new trainers leaving today, nobody other then us traveling on it. Michael was twirling Sharon's pokeball in-between his fingers with out accidentally touching the button to release Sharon. He seemed troubled, looking ahead but not looking at anything. After another four hours of walking, the sun had begun to set. We now stared at Littleroot town, cast in shadows. Tomorrow, we would have to face Michael's parents. What I didn't know was that I would have another challenge tomorrow, in the form of Tyson and Lexi.

That's a story for tomorrow though.


	68. Crossover

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXVIII: Crossing Jurisdictions**

It's odd to return to your home town after being gone for over half a year. Nothing looks the way you remember it. Of course since I spent most of my time here in the woods, I never remembered how it looked. I remember the people were all assholes (Robin leading the pack) but not much else.

Their was only one hotel in town, a small inn called the Pressman. I've often wondered how this town can still exist if so many people leave, and almost none return. It still mystifies me, but not as much as the events of that day.

As we finally made it into town, the sun had set, and everyone else was exhausted. I on the other hand was energized. Since evolving, I had begun getting a lot more tired in the morning, and it took a lot of energy to control my temper. At night I would have trouble getting to sleep since I was so awake. The problem is we never did any night battling, so any battle I was in from now on would be an uphill battle.

The luxurious Pressman hotel was a flea bag. Three stories that looked like they should have been torn down over twenty years ago. The carpets were shaggy orange, and the walls were puke colored. The lights above us flickered and buzzed. Louis and Lisa's room had no number on it, or door knob. Our room might have been nine, or six, considering it was barley hanging on.

"Oh, this is good" Michael mumbled, as we made our way into our room. It had two beds, one of which was growing mushrooms on the bedspread. The TV had a hole in it the size of a bowling ball. Michael sighed, placed my book (he had been carrying it under his arm) on the nightstand, and unclipped Sharon's pokeball. He then released her on the bed.

"Free! Free of the evil ball!" Michael popped the lids off of the pill bottles, and fed two pills to Sharon. "Taste awful. Now I…I" Sharon passed out. The pills make you tired. Michael looked at us.

"No one get on the bed with her, okay?" We each gave our respective affirmative. Michael sighed, and smiled at us. He collapsed on the bed, and we followed him up, except Titan. Titan sat on the floor, staring at Sharon.

"You want up?" I asked. He shook his head. "Just for the record, I think it's sweet how much you care for Sharon"

"Uh huh" Titan replied. Uh huh, what a conversationalist. I climbed onto Michael's chest, and he stroked my fur.

"Tomorrow I have to do something before going to my parents" Michael mumbled. "Then I've got to deal with them. Yeesh, what am I thinking? I ran away in the middle of the night, what will they think?"

"That's you're a stupid boy?" I asked. He rubbed his eyes.

"Christ I'm tired. Whatever, I have to deal with this, I have no choice. I hope it goes easy, but I doubt it will" Michael didn't know this, but he was right.

It wouldn't go easy.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want us to come with you?" Lisa asked. It was the next day, Sharon was back in her ball, and Michael was informing them that he had to do something first. "I mean, what is it you have to do?"

"Something" Michael said. He grinned. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon. Tell Louis okay?" Lisa nodded. Enfer looked at me from the doorway. She seemed concerned, since she couldn't make sure I was okay being back in this town. Lisa closed the door, and we headed out.

The sun was glaring down above us. It was almost three in the afternoon, we had overslept. Not as bad as in Petalburg, but a full day of walking will knock you out cold. I felt weak, the sun was so bright and literally sapping me of strength.

Michael had my book under his left arm. He hadn't even brought his bag, just us and the book. What was he planning?

"This is really your home town?" Bane asked, "This place is a dump"

"At least this place is warm" I replied, "In Sinnoh, today it would be a warm –7" Bane stuck out his tongue. "Where are we going?"

"I dunno, he's your trainer. I went with him because his aura was sad" Hoenn hadn't changed much, just enough to make me feel like a visitor. Many of the sidewalks were being destroyed, and as far as I could tell, they were replacing them with brick. Michael lead all of us to a pair of buildings, a flower shop next door to a pharmacy.

"Wait here guys, I'll be back soon" Michael walked in side of the shop. A bell attached to the door clanged as he did. I barely noticed because my attention was on the pharmacy.

Their was police tape across the door in an X, and a cop was standing guard. Michael walked out a minute later, a bouquet of roses in his right hand.

"Ooh, flowers!" Rush chirped, "Who are they for?"

"Who cares" Titan snarled. Michael couldn't help but pause at the pharmacy, curiosity getting the best of him.

"What happened here?" He asked the cop. The cop suddenly came to life and looked at Michael.

"Robbery, kid was shot, dead" Michael looked shocked.

"My God, who was shot?" The cop shrugged.

"Name was Tyson, don't know anything else" Knowing he wouldn't get anymore, Michael sighed and moved on.

Michael was completely caught up in his own thoughts. I was arguing with Bane. None of us were paying attention, which is why we didn't notice the girl in front of us with her Houndour. We didn't notice until Michael ran head-on into her.

"Owe!" The two ended up falling to the ground. The roses didn't scatter, and my book landed with a heavy thud. Slowly, the two of them pulled themselves back up.

"Oh crap, sorry about that" Michael said, "Didn't see you there"

"Don't apologize" I said, "Stupid fuck wasn't paying attention" I heard Flash sigh behind me.

"Must you curse?" The girl was younger then Michael. She had brown hair and brown eyes. She seemed upset, but I couldn't tell why.

"Oh, um, sorry" Her voice was strained badly, even apologizing was taking a lot of energy from her.

"Wow, look what the circus brought in" Her Houndour said in an obnoxious tone. Boy, this guy was going to annoy me.

"Circus? Fuck you!" I said, "I should go over there and" Our eyes connected. Oh fuck.

A clip like a film strip played before my eyes. A boy, holding a Houndour up in front of his face like a shield. Something, a bullet, ripped through the Houndour and struck the boy in the throat, splattering his blood. Great, the prick was human once.

"You've been reborn" We said in unison. The Houndour seemed shocked to hear the words come out of his mouth.

"Whoa, I only know half of what just happened" I sighed. From that statement, it wasn't hard to figure the nit had never been told about this.

"Oh boy" As the nearest reborn, I felt it was my duty to inform him of what just happened. "Okay, I'll give you a quick summery. Both of us were human, we died, we came back as pokemon. When two reborn make eye contact, they can see how the other died. Don't ask me why, I have no idea"

"Wait, so Arceus left this crap out too! Can't believe I had to have a clown explain that to me" I had tried to be nice. I gave him a summary. He had pissed me off though.

"Arceus saved you? Why on earth would he save an asshole like you?" I know I should have felt sorry for the guy, but he ticked me off for some reason.

"So, are you a trainer?" Michael asked the girl. She smiled weakly.

"Yeah, and this is my partner" She said, gesturing at the Houndour.

"Oh nice Lexi, like he didn't know that"

"Hey, she's your trainer!" I said, "Show some fucking respect" Michael stifled a laugh, since to his ears it sounded like me and the Houndour were shouting our species names at each other.

"You don't know the half of it" He replied.

"I'm Michael Luccelli" Michael said.

"Lexi Taylor, nice to meet you"

"The half of what?" I asked. I barely registered the girls name in my mind. The Houndour's smirk vanished.

"I'd rather not talk about it" I knew that look in his eyes, I'd seen it in my own a thousand times. It vanished almost instantly though.

"So, how much battle experience do you have?" Michael asked.

"Not much at all" Lexi replied, "Other then practicing on a tree" Michael smiled to himself. He placed the book and roses at his feet.

"Would you like to battle with me?" She grinned.

"Yeah, sure. That would be great" Now I was excited.

"Come on, lets go" I looked the Houndour, "I'll knock your nose off"

"Good, let's enjoy this shall we" Michael added. "Angel, you're up" All of the others in our group got behind Michael, while I moved in front of him. I stuck my tongue out at the Houndour.

"Kole, lets go" The Houndour, Kole, smirked at me. Asshole. Then Michael said the stupidest words I'd ever heard.

"Lexi, you can go first" Ugh. Why? Why did he have to give her the upper hand? He should have ordered me to rip that obnoxious S.O.B.s throat out.

"Are you trying to go easy on me?" Lexi asked. "Oh well, Kole ember" He rather obviously had no battle experience, so I was able to sidestep the ember. A few of them burned the edge of my fur, but no real damage.

"No, it's just polite" Michael said, "Angel, tackle"

"What?!" I cried. Oh come on, I know hidden power, shadow ball, quick attack, I know dig! Dig could demolish him, and Michael ordered a tackle? I sighed, and ran into Kole, hitting him with all of my weight. It knocked him flat on his ass.

"Have to admit, that hurt" Kole growled.

"Kole, Leer" Kole grunted, and gave me a weird look. I could feel it zap my defense, but not by much.

"Angel, sand attack"

"Ugh" Why was he ordering a throw away move? When your so much stronger then your opponent, don't bother attacking their stats. Just kill them. I gave in though and kicked sand in Kole's face.

"Kole, ember" I didn't manage to get out of the way in time, and all of the embers hit me.

"I love playing with fire" He taunted.

"Angel, tackle" Again with the tackle. I hit Kole again, but as I did, I realized the ember hit me a lot worse then I first thought.

"You son of a bitch, you burned me" I protested. Kole had ended up on his back, and now was having trouble getting up.

"You're wearing me down" Kole growled, "But I'm not done yet"

"Kole howl" Kole blushed through his dark fur.

"Lexi, I haven't learned any physical attacks" I laughed.

"Your trainer is a nitwit. She doesn't even know what attacks you know!"

"Angel, growl" Again with the throw away attacks. I sighed, and gave a cute growl. Even as an Umbreon, it was cute.

"Kole ember"

"She's a nitwit? Your trainer just ordered growl, I don't know any physical attacks" Kole the released an Ember, once again hitting me. Seeing as I was burned, it was starting to sap my energy.

"Angel, quick attack" I sighed, and ran straight at Kole, hitting him hard.

"If I had hands, they would be around your throat" I snarled.

"You don't though, do you?" Fuck.

"Kole, keep throwing out embers"

"Why are you such a jackass?" I asked. He hit me with embers at point blank range.

"Another quick attack Angel"

"Like I said, you don't know the half of it. I found out a lot today, and I'm really mad about it" Okay, that ticked me off, it wasn't an answer.

"You saw me hang, why did you get shot in the throat?"

"Growl" Michael ordered. I wanted to scream in frustration, but I gave the cute growl yet again.

"Do you know any other attacks?!" I cried.

"I was at a pharmacy" Kole said suddenly, ignoring me. "Thieves were trying to steal medication to make drugs. They were going to kill me, you obviously saw the Houndour, I died, and this is what I get"

"Kole ember" He fired, I let it hit. Distracted by what he said.

"As for the second question" Kole said, "I do, but they're both seemingly useless"

"I would have assumed when the robbers saw you, they would have given you their mask, because you obviously needed it. The second question was dictated at Michael because"  
"Angel, growl"

"Damn it!"

"Ember"

"Again? I need to level up first" Kole whined. He released the ember again. I let it hit me.

"Angel, sand-attack" I kicked sand at Kole. It missed on purpose, but I made it look like an accident.

"Just for the record" I said, already regretting my earlier comment, "I know what you're going through"

"So what about you?" Kole asked, "You seemed really connected to your trainer before we met, and battled"

"Kole, ember"

"I don't care if I am fire-type, I swear my tongue is burned" He released the embers, I let them hit me.

"I do care about him, I just hate it when he does stupid things. Burns hurting, feeling woozy" A lie, I could go for hours more.

"Angel, tackle!" I didn't run at him, I barley nudged him.

"Kole just the last bit, come on, ember"

"I'm trying, I'm running out of embers" Kole released one last one. As it hit me, I decided to collapse. Give them both a good feeling.

"Eh, good job. You win"

"I won?" Kole asked.

"We won?" Lexi asked.

"You won" Michael said.

"I want to die again" I mumbled.

"Great job Kole!" Lexi laughed, picking the Houndour up and hugging him.

"Me too…" He looked down at me, "Great job, uh, I never got your real name"

"Angela" I said, "And your name is?"

"My real name is Tyson, it's nice to meet you I guess" Tyson? It had to be. Wait, nice I guess?

"Nice? I'm a delight!" I yelled.

"Let's not get carried away" Kole, er, Tyson said.

"Fine, maybe I'm not a delight. How are you adjusting to be a pokemon?" Tyson shrugged.

"I guess fine. It's so annoying when no one but pokemon understand you"

"Have the increased hearing our scent bothered you? How about walking on all fours?" I smirked. "Because if they haven't, they will"

"I guess I forgot about it. My ears hurt when Lexi turns the TV on to loud. Also, I can't stand candles anymore"

"Well, the candle thing wont get better, you'll always be weaker in light. The hearing thing gets better, but it always feels weird"

"Well, it's good to know something's will get better"

"Kole seems to really listen to you" Michael said "How long have you had him?"

"Only a few days" Lexi said, "You and Angel seem like a perfect match also"

"So what are you and Kole's plans?" Michael asked.

"Gym battles, then the league"

"Good luck with the league, but there are several things you need to know"

"Like what?" Michael smirked.

"You know, I can't explain it to you. However, I have something if you want it"

"If you want me to have it, what is it?" Lexi asked. Michael reached down to my book, and grabbed it.

"I needed this when I began" Michael said "I've memorized every word. Every gym their is info on, strategy for every type" Lexi took the book, holding it gently.

"R-really? Thank you!"

"Unfortunately" Michael said, gesturing to the entire group behind him, "I have to be going" He picked up the roses. "I hope you do great"

"And I hope I see you in the hall of fame" Lexi said.

"Just for the record" I said to Tyson, "Don't let our battle give you any illusions  
about the road ahead for you, it's a rough one. Bye"

"Hopefully, I won't." Tyson said. "Thanks, and bye" With that we parted ways, and continued on our journey.

* * *

"You know" Flash said, walking up beside me. "From what I observed, that Houndour is a lot like you"

"What do you mean?" Flash grinned.

"He's a bit to cocky, but he uses it to mask his pain. He's uncertain of his new future as a pokemon. He doesn't curse as much, but I bet he's intelligent"

"Eh, I didn't see it" By now we were out of town, and I knew where we were headed. I had known since we exited the flower shop. We came to a metal gate that was open. The arch above said "Green Falls Cemetery. Yeah, I knew.

We walked through rows and rows of headstones, until we came to one small one. It wasn't as old as the others, more freshly polished. Even if I could read, I wouldn't need to. Michael placed the roses on it.

"Hey Angela" He said, his voice cracking as he did. "I know it's been awhile, but I couldn't come by. When I was in this area, I knew I had to see you though" He laughed. "The last time I was here, I only had Angel. Well, my team has grown a bit bigger, come on over guys" Titan, Rush, Flash, and Bane approached my tomb stone. Titan pawed at it curiously.

"I don't get it" Titan said.

"Show some fucking respect" I said, "Your standing on someone's grave"

"I know, but why memorialize it? It just doesn't make sense"

"I don't care" I growled, "show some respect" Michael rubbed his eyes, which were now red and puffy.

"I miss you Angela. Christ, I can't put into words how much I miss you" He stood up. "I have to go, but I promise I'll be back. Come on guys" We began to leave. I took one last lingering look, and followed.

* * *

"Are you ready for this?" It was an hour later. The sun was beginning to set, and now we were all here. We were standing on the street in front of Michael's house.

"Yeah, I guess" Michael mumbled. We slowly began to move through his yard. Enfer was beside me, and she noticed my attention was else where. I was staring at my old house. The windows were washed, the walls were painted, and the door and shutters were new.

"Was that where you lived?" I nodded. "Does it bring back any bad memories?" I shook my head.

"It doesn't bring anything back" I said, "I don't feel anything looking at it. I no longer feel anything" Enfer smiled at me, and I leaned into her warm fur. Michael stepped onto the front step. He held his arm up, and hesitated.

_No turning back now_

He knocked.


	69. Homecoming

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXIX: Homecoming**

From where I was sitting, I could see Michael, and I could see his eyes. In them were a thousand emotions, fear, regret, anticipation, and many without names.

"I know I'm going to regret this" He mumbled. The door was opened, by a tall raven-haired woman. She had gray eyes, and was wearing all black. One look at us, caused her jaw to drop.

"Michael? My God, you've come home" The woman almost dropped to the ground, and Michael caught her.

"Uh, could you guys help me?" Michael groaned. Louis and Lisa shrugged, and the three of them dragged Michael's mother through the door and over to the couch.

"Honey, who was" A man walked into the room. He was a little taller then Michael, and completely bald. He looked at Michael, then at his unconscious wife, then back at his son.

"Hi dad"

"Michael? What are you…You're home" He laughed. "You're home!" He then rushed over and embraced his son.

"Awe, how sweet" Lisa said. Michael's dad looked up at her.

"You would be?"

"This will be a long story" I mumbled.

* * *

After they woke up his mother, Michael sat down and began to explain the last seven months. They both interrupted him from time to time, but he explained most of it. Of course, he brushed over the parts where he killed Donny, and survived a massacre in the woods, but they didn't need to know that.

"And since we were in Petalburg, I knew I had to come here. I mean, I ran away, I know you guys worried. At least I think you did, why didn't you ever look for me?" His mom and dad looked at each other.

"We did" Michael's mom said, "But since we couldn't go gallivanting around Hoenn, we asked that nice Robin girl to tell us if she saw you. You never ran into her once" Michael smiled.

"Not one single time" Now it was time for his dad to speak up.

"Ms. Jeffries" Lisa smiled.

"Lisa"

"Uh, Lisa. I understand why Michael's half-wit cousin was traveling with him"

"Hey!" Louis protested. Enfer tried, and failed to contain a laugh.

"But what was your role in this whole thing? Did you also provide money? Did you help my son train? Did you catch pokemon for him? I don't understand" Lisa laughed.

"Well they, and by they I mean Louis, invited me. I excepted. Besides I needed to travel with someone new. Even with Virgil, I was getting so lonely I considered putting my head in an oven" She laughed again, while Michael's parents stared, absolutely horrified.

"Lisa, you know that you were an important part of this journey" Michael said, patting her on her dead leg. "I just don't know what that part was"

"Feet off the table" His mom snapped suddenly. Louis had propped his feet on the coffee table, but as soon as she snapped at him, he dropped them.

"Oh, sorry" Louis said.

"It's alright, I'll fix every thing" She stood up suddenly, and walked out of the room. When she returned, she had a large, damp sponge, and a bottle of cleaning supplies. She squirted where Louises feet had been, and scrubbed vigorously. Her husband acted like nothing was wrong, while Michael rubbed his eyes.

"Imagine that, every day, for sixteen years" He mumbled.

"Angela, what do you see about this house?" Enfer asked me, "What's weird?" I looked around at the immaculately clean room.

"I dunno, I can't tell" Enfer sighed.

"You know, my husband forced me to keep the house disturbingly clean. Even if he didn't though, I would have. When you're unhappy, it's a great way to get control. Just a little bit of control over your life" Then I noticed it.

Their was no mess in the house at all. No clutter, every thing clean. Every thing in its place, even the furniture sparkling. The walls had been cleaned, yeah the fucking walls were cleaned.

"She scares me" Nel said, quivering behind me. I sighed, and turned to Nel.

"Come on Nel, don't be scared" Nel shook her head. Louis reached down, and scooped the petrified Skitty up, as Mrs. Luccelli continued to obsessively scrub. She the noticed Nel on Louises lap, and Pecha and Wisp on Lisa's.

"You…also have pokemon?" She asked, her left eye twitching.

"I have three" Louis said with a smile. "Enfer here" He gestured. "L3" L3 was unconscious. Me and Enfer agreed having L3 awake would be a bad thing, so the moment we arrived Enfer head butted her. We put her under the chair for safekeeping. "And my baby Nel" He kissed her on the nose, and she giggled.

"Yeah, that's cute" She said, laughing nervously. "C-could you please put them in their balls?" She turned to Michael. "That goes for you too"

"What? No, of course not!" She turned to her husband.

"Myron" She whined, in a tone that suggested if he didn't agree with her, he didn't love her. He sighed.

"Would you guys mind" Michael just stared, mystified. He recalled all but me back into their balls. Louis recalled Nel and L3, while Lisa recalled Wisp and Pecha.

"I know you don't like it" Mrs. Luccelli said, sitting on the couch after putting up the sponge. "But pokemon are germ spreaders. Also, they shed constantly, and their hair sets off my allergies"

"We had a Meowth as a pet when I was younger" Michael said, "Until I was eight. Until that day it fell into the neighbors pool and drowned, you never once sneezed or had a single hive"

"I guess I'm just not allergic to Meowth fur" She said in a not-at-all convincing manner. "I was preparing dinner when you arrived Michael, how about we move this wonderful conversation to the dinning room"

* * *

"That woman is a psycho" I said. By now Michaels mother had served something called duck ala range. I didn't know what duck was, ala was, or range was, but according to Mrs. Luccelli it took six hours to make, but she still had time to reupholster her chairs and clean the ceilings.

"She's a control freak, that's the problem" Enfer said. "If she's not in control, she's unhappy. Her husband is completely under her boot hill" Mrs. Luccelli continued to dish our some kind of orange meat. It looked awful, but the smell made me water. So much better then the pellet crap I eat. Speaking of which, Michael stood up.

"What are you doing?!" Mrs. Luccelli asked in a sharp tone.

"I was going to get food for Angel and Enfer" Michael said, "Unless there is some problem with that?"

"I'd rather you wait until we finish" She said. "Dinner time is for people, not pokemon"

"I need to light up" Louis mumbled.

"I give you permission" Lisa replied. I suspect she did it largely just to see the look on her face when Louis pulled out a doobie and lit up.

"What the? STOP THAT!" Mrs. Luccelli screamed. Both Michael and his dad had to fight to surprises their laughter. "Put it out! For the love of God, no smoking and especially no drugs"

"Alright, fine" Louis said. He picked up the small plate next to the big plate and his drink. The plate had an intricate floral pattern on it, that vanished when Louis put out his joint on it. "There, all better?" Mrs. Luccelli's eyes went wide. Her fingers tightened around the serving tray for the duck thing.

"That's a bread plate" She said, in a barley controlled voice. Louis sighed.

"So?"

"IT ISN'T AN ASHTRAY" She shrieked. Mrs. Luccelli's eyes were as wide as melons, and her face was as white as a sheet. "Bread goes on the bread plate!" She put down the serving thing and picked up a plate. "Bread plate, bread! Bread plate, bread!"

"This is the most fun dinner I've ever been to" I snickered.

"Repeat it!" She cried.

"Bread plate, bread" Louis said, absolutely terrified.

"Jesus lady, what's the matter with you?" Lisa asked. Oh boy, bad idea. Mrs. Luccelli turned her crazy stare in Lisa's direction.

"What did you say to me?" Lisa stumbled up, leaning on her cane as she did. If she could have, she would have used the cane to break Mrs. Luccelli's skull.

"I'm serious, what is the matter with you? Ever since we walked into your house, you've been whiny and obsessive. I mean, yeesh, could the stick be rammed any higher up your ass?" Her jaw dropped, along with the bread plate that shattered when it hit the ground.

"What did you say to me?" She asked.

"Oh you heard it"

"I know, but maybe you should repeat it" Mrs. Luccelli snarled, "Because unless I'm mistaken, you said I have a stick up my ass"

"Maybe if you didn't, people wouldn't need to get stoned to sit through your dinner" Lisa retorted. Mrs. Luccelli gritted her teeth.

"Get out!" She yelled.

"Stay here" Michael replied.

"Michael, how dare you"

"Mom, I love you, but zip it. You need to calm down" Mrs. Luccelli stared at her son, open mouthed. Slowly, she sat back down. "Good, now Lisa will apologize"

"But I"

"LISA!" Lisa sighed.

"Sorry" She mumbled. You could tell she didn't mean it, but Mrs. Luccelli excepted it.

"I need to clean up the broken plate" Mrs. Luccelli said, trying to stand up.

"Mom, stop it. Come on, let's talk about something" Mrs. Luccelli nodded.

"Okay, when are you coming home?" Enfer and I looked at each other.

"It came up at dinner, I win" I said with a grin. The two of us had bet on how long it would take her to ask Michael that question. Enfer had bet any time except dinner, and I bet dinner.

When ever the drunken Duncans needed to talk about something, they waited till dinner. Of course, whenever it got to dinner time, the drunken Duncans were to sloshed in order to tell me anything. Michael sighed.

"Mom, I'm not coming home" He said. "I'll visit from time to time, but I'm not coming back home again"

"Why not?" His dad was asking this time. Michael smiled.

"I still have three more gyms to visit, and if I win at them, I go to the Ever Grande Conference. After that, I don't know what I'm going to do"

"You can come back here!" Mrs. Luccelli injected. "We need you here Michael"

"Well that's not going to happen" Michael said. "I'm sorry, but I can't live here again! I need to have my own life" His mom broke down sobbing. "Oh Christ, I can't deal with this" He stood up and left, followed closely by the rest of us, leaving his parents there.

* * *

Michael paused in the living room, before heading over to and up the stairs. Michael's door was the first one on the right. It was the only door with Cofiwch Dryweryn painted on it, whatever that meant.

"This is your room?" Louis asked, as Michael opened the door.

"Yeah, what do you think?" I hadn't been here in seven months, and had largely forgotten what it looked like. My eyes went wide at the sight of everything.

Books, every where books. He had six book cases, each one crammed to the gills with books on every subject imaginable. The ones that couldn't fir onto them fit on top of them, or on his dresser, or under his bed. I didn't know you could fit so many into a single room.

"I didn't have many friends growing up" Michael said, "When I brought them here, my mother scared them off. Angela was the only one who wasn't spooked in all honesty. Well, since I couldn't have friends, I had to make do with books"

"Why do you have a book on cryptography?" Louis asked.

"My attempt to solve Cyrillic. Which I did, in 2004"

"Didn't they first de-code that in 2003?" Michael blushed.

"I did it on my own!" He protested. Michael sighed, and collapsed on his bed. "Why is it that after not seeing my parents for seven months, we get into a fight?" Lisa sat down beside him.

"Did I ever tell you that, right before going to the Johto conference, I went to visit my family?" Michael shook his head. "Well, it was right after I got engaged to my fiancé Charlie, I've told you about him right?"

"No"

"Well he doesn't matter. Anyways, I brought him with me for some reason, and going in I knew it was a mistake. My parents wouldn't let me in if I was with, and I'm quoting, "a darkie bastard". So Charlie and I camped out on the front porch, just to fuck with them. That ended up being a mistake because my dad later opened the door, and pointed a shot gun at my head. He told me to get the fuck out. Well Charlie tried to stand up for me, except the stress set of his asthma. So I had to support him, and the two of us ended up hauling ass as my dad fired buck shots at us" Michael stared at us.

"What was the point of that?"

"Tell me, have your parents kicked you out of the house?"

"No"

"Shouted racial slurs at your fiancé?"

"Nope"

"Fired a gun at you because you and your lover were in the middle of having sex on their door step?" Now we all looked at her.

"What? No, of course not"

"Then what the hell are you bitching about? You have parents who love you, in their own disturbing way. You fought with them because you still ran away in the middle of the night! What did you expect, a grand homecoming?" Michael sat up.

"You're right, I don't have anything to complain about. You guys should head back to the hotel, I'll be along in a half an hour. I need to talk to my parents a bit longer"

"Are you sure?" Louis asked.

"Yeah I am. Don't worry, I'll be fine"

* * *

Me and Michael went into the kitchen, where Mr. Luccelli was. Mrs. Luccelli was obsessively cleaning up the unfinished dinner. She blew out the candles on the table, and then wiped down the silver candle sticks.

"She wasn't always like this" Mr. Luccelli said.

"Dad?"

"She wasn't always this obsessive, this unhappy. Before you were born, she was happy. She was able to let the little things go. She never got this…"

"Crazy? Are you saying me being born made my mother this?"

"No. Your birth didn't do it. Antony's birth, and death did it"

"Oh Christ"

"Why did you think we never mentioned your brother? Any time he was brought up, your mother would tear up. She started cleaning, and I should have gotten her help, but I didn't. I know this isn't the healthiest way to deal with pain, but it works for her" Michael sighed.

"Yeah, I know" Michael moved past his father, over to his mother. By now she had stacked all of the plates, folded the cloth napkins, dumped the left overs into a small trash can she had brought in with her, and was folding the table cloth. "Mom?" She gave a small jump, then turned to her son.

"Oh, hello Michael. I see your friends are gone"

"Yeah, they are" Michael said. "I'm going to join them"

"If you must" She said, before resuming cleaning. Michael draped his arm across her, tried to look her in the face, but she turned away.

"I know you don't agree with me, but could you at least respect my decision?" She sighed, and collapsed into one of the chairs.

"Michael, you ran away in the middle of the night. Am I supposed to respect that decision?" He shook his head.

"I didn't have any choice, you wanted to take Angel away and put me into therapy! You backed me into a corner"

"You could have talked to me!"

"What would that have accomplished? You would have ignored me, like you always did!"

"But you would have been here Michael!" She said, "Here and safe" Michael sighed.

"I can't waste my life away being here and safe Mom, you know that" He said. Mrs. Luccelli frowned, but you could tell she knew he was right.

"You're so stubborn Michael, how did you end up that way?" Michael grinned.

"I just did Mom" He stood up.

"Michael" Mrs. Luccelli said, "If you make it to Ever Grande, call us. We…we would love to see you battle"

"I can do that Mom"

* * *

"How did it go?" Louis asked, as Michael and me returned to the hotel. We had gone to Louis and Lisa's room.

"About as well as expected. I don't think my mother agrees with me, but I tried at least" Michael sat his bag down on the bed. He looked at me. "You never got any dinner, let's say we get you something to eat"

"Umbre!" Michael opened the top of his bag, and a large green egg fell out. It landed on the bed softly. We all looked at each other.

"What the fuck?"


	70. Aria Of The Chu

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXX: Aria of the Chu**

We all stared at the egg for a moment, none of us sure of what to do.

"That's an egg" Louis said, pointing.

"Insightful as always Lou" Michael mumbled. "How did an egg end up in my bag? Did you guys see anyone put it in there?"

"Nope, didn't see a thing" Enfer walked over beside me.

"So, we have no idea who put the egg in the bag?" I asked.

"Not a one"

"What do you think it is?" Enfer thought about it for a second.

"Hmmm, what do you see on the egg?" I shrugged.

"Green, lots of green" Michael began to slowly move the egg around, and I saw something else. "Blue lines. Three of them, two short and one long. They're arrange like a frowning face"

"What pokemon has that on its body?" I thought for a moment, but what ever it was escaped me.

"Not a clue" I said. "I've seen those lines a few times, and for some reason they make me want to laugh. But I don't know why!" Michael picked up the egg carefully. He polished it with his shirt for some reason.

"Doesn't matter why we have an egg" Michael said, "The point is we have one now. We can't stay here unfortunately, I hate this motel and I'm not going home. It'll hatch while we're traveling. We'll need to buy all the supplies you need when hatching a pokemon. Towels, a baby bottle, pokemon baby formula which is in Petalburg" He stood up, holding the egg. "I'm going to go to sleep now, need rest. It's been a long day"

* * *

I ended up curled up with Enfer, since Michael was holding the egg. Every one by now had been released from their balls. Enfer was softer then Michael, but damn was she hot.

Most of my team mates had been less then happy about being put into their pokeballs. Titan suggested we destroy the evil balls, and Bane agreed to help. I then called Titan an idiot and told Bane to recite The Worst Pies In London. While he sang and danced to that, Michael fed Sharon her clotting pills. Sharon, upon seeing the egg, had a brilliant reaction.

"Eggy!"

Absolutely brilliant.

The night music was the ritornello form of the breathing of my friends. This couldn't calm me though, all I could do was stare up at the ceiling. Something had been off ever since I got here. When Michael had given away my book, he gave away something I had spent four years working to create. He gave it away to someone he thought needed it. I should have felt something. Except…

Except I hadn't felt any thing. I had felt dead inside when he did it. It hadn't mattered to me at all. When I heard the drunken Duncans had died, I hadn't felt anything.

_The nightmare man_

I'd remembered a dream I had had, but that had been a coincidence. The nightmare man was just that, a nightmare. Not the man who killed the Duncans.

_Not the man in the woods?_

"Can't sleep?" Enfer asked. I turned my head, surprised to see her awake.

"To hot" I lied. Enfer nodded.

"It bothers me being here also" She replied.

"Why should it bother you? You didn't have to grow up here with no friends and a pair of drunks as parents" Enfers eyes glinted in the dark night. She leaned over, and licked me across the nose.

"I had to give up my daughter to a pair of drunks" Enfer said, "I never thought I would see you again. Now I have you though Angela, and I'll never let you go"

_Say that again in seven months_

"Thanks Enfer" I mumbled. I closed my eyes, and fell asleep.

* * *

The next day my new nightmare began. A nightmare in the form of a foot tall, six pound, annoying little Chu.

"Pecha has been freed from the nightmare ball!" Pecha ranted, as she rode by on her "noble steed"(Nel). "The world will tremble with the might of the Chu! All will fall before my"

"Hi Pecha" Rush said, walking by. Wisp was beside him. Pecha froze in the middle of her rant. She fell off of Nel, who took a look back, screamed, and ran as fast as her tiny legs could carry her. I looked down at her, and laughed.

"Greetings curing Eeveon!"

"I'm an Umbreon, you jackass. There's no such thing as Eeveon!"

"I'm never going to remember that Eeveon" Pecha said, "Help me to my feet. All will burn!" I wanted to tell her to fuck off, but I helped her back up. "Thank you Eeveon. Tell me, what do you see?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Look out onto the future Chutopia, and tell me what you see!" Her tone told me it wasn't a question, or at least it had a specific answer. I looked around. I could see Louis and Lisa talking to each other behind me, Michael looking at his egg with fascination, Titan looking at the lone pokeball around his waste, Bane singing Sandcastles in the Sand, Enfer in front of me, Nel pawing rapidly at Louises leg, L3 vibrating, Flash missing (that worried me), Trish flying overhead (she said watching Pecha was the best entertainment), and Rush and Wisp talking.

"I see a bunch of idiots, why?" Pecha sighed.

"I see only a hunka-hunka burning Kip!" Now she began to whine. "I need Rush to love me Angel!"

"I have a name?!" I cried in mock sarcasm.

"I had a lot of time to think while stuck in the human death ball" Pecha said. "In my life I have studied humans, taught my self to read human, taught my self what the world looks like and how best to take it. Something has been missing though Eeveon. I needed a shoulder to cry on, a body to hold, a Kip to love!" Pecha's eyes went so wide the veins in her eyes turned white. "But I don't know how to do it Eeveon, please tell me how" Now she was begging. Alright, I give.

"Pecha, I don't like you" I said. "I really don't like you. There are a list of STD's I'd rather have, then being forced to spend time with you. That being said, I'm willing to help, just so you'll annoy Rush and not me. Why not tell Rush about your self? Let him no the real Pecha"

"There is no real Pecha!" She cried. "Pecha is a sham! What should I do Angeleon?"

"Why did you add eon to my name?"

"Are you saying I should make up a story and then lie to Rush, so he'll love me?"

"No!"

"I'll do it!" Pecha cried. "But how do I get Wisp the traitor away? If I knew that, then the Kip stealing whore"

"The same Kip stealing whore who scratches you so gently behind the ears that you actually start to churr?" Pecha blushed beneath her fur.

"The scratching behind the ears will never deter the greatness that is Chu!" No, it would take a belly rub to do that. "I need to eliminate Rush, what would Hannibal do?"

"Who?" Pecha sighed.

"Hannibal! Great general, goal was to take over the world. Granted, he was human" She said with a sneer. "He crossed an army and several hundred Aggron across something called the Alps. He could have gone around them, but he went through! I need to do the something"

"You need to go through Wisp?"

"You said it, not me!" She cried. "That Vulpix are my Alps, how do I get past them? Well, I will either find a way" Pecha's head turned behind her, to L3, "Or make one!" She dashed over to L3. Seeing as L3 can never keep still, Pecha had to follow her just to make conversation with her. I could see this ending very badly, but I could have seen that from the moment Pecha started talking.

"You don't give her enough credit" I screamed and jumped straight in the air. I landed right behind Flash. Trish was hovering in the air beside him. They both were trying hard not to laugh.

"What do you two want?!" I cried.

"Well, watching you is about the most amusing part of my day" Trish said.

"You don't give Pecha enough credit" Flash said, "You treat her like she's a half wit"

"Yes I do. Your point being?"

"Pecha's a lot more clever then you think" He said. "She isn't strong physically, she can't aim an attack to save her life, and she has less followers then Charles Manson. She has to be creative to get what she wants" Suddenly, L3 charged at Wisp. She grabbed the Vulpix, and before any body could do anything, she ran off with Wisp.

"Greetings Rush!" Pecha exclaimed, sidling up beside him the moment Wisp was gone. Rush, who hadn't been paying attention, was shocked to see her.

"Hey Pecha, where did Wisp go?"

"Let go of me you damn ape!" Wisp screamed.

"No idea" Pecha said. "Rush, I think it's time you and I got to know each other better" Rush, who seemed a little surprised by this, shrugged.

"Kay. I thought we did know each other though!" Flash, Trish, and my self were listening in very closely. Every thing that was about to come out of Pecha's mouth was bullshit, but it sure would be fun to hear.

"Okay, bets on what Pecha will tell?" I asked.

"Dead parents, killed in front of her" Trish said.

"Dead lover, killed while she was away" Flash said.

"Dead sibling, died in her arms" I said. The bets were locked, and Pecha began her lie.

"I had a family once. Parents who loved me Rush, a sister I adored! I had never once known the feel of another pokemon" She said, gently stroking Rush across the back. He though, didn't notice. "I was happy though, do you know what it means to be happy?"

"Of course I know! I'm always happy!" Rush seemed a tad frantic. "I'm the worlds happiest Kip!"

"My sister was named Cheri, isn't that cute?"

"Sickeningly" I mumbled.

"Cheri was a year younger then me" Pecha continued, Rush now paying close attention. "We did every thing together. We ran, we played, we discussed the take-over of the world"

"….You want to take over the world?" Rush asked. Nothing escapes the bear trap that is Rush's mind.

"I don't want to discuss work" Pecha said. "Now tell me Rush, what do you know about the human death-road?" Rush shrugged.

"Nothing, what is it?"

"They are these long flat strips" Pecha said with a sneer. "They're made of black rock, and humans pilot their giants cars across them!"

"I know what those are, but they're just called roads. I've never heard of death-roads"

"My mother always warned us about death-roads. Chu died on them she said, lots of chu" Pecha was making this up as she went, but she was good at it. "Cheri and I did not listen to mother Rush! Cheri and I thought we were smarter then our parents. We knew the death-roads and silly humans would never be of any harm to us!"

"Rush can't be believing us" I mumbled.

"What happened to Cheri?" Rush cried, his face filled with concern. How the hell did he manage to figure out I was human?"

"Their was a tree near where we lived" Pecha said. "A tree that grew the most delicious Oran berry's you ever tasted" Rush's stomach grumbled. "The only thing is that the berry's grew on the edge of the branch of the tree. The branch extended over a human death-rode"

"I think I just won the bet" I said.

"You don't know that, I could still win!" Trish protested. Yeah, right.

"It was cloudy that day, and we knew it was going to rain! Oh why did we go out if we knew it was going to rain?!" Pecha cried, milking this for all it was worth. "Why didn't we listen to our parents, why God why?" Rush's attention was completely on her now.

"I dunno, why?" Pecha stared at him for a moment.

"Well, we wanted Oran berry's that day. We craved them, oh how foolish was it to crave them?! We went out to the tree by the human death road, we would show every one that we were brave little Chu!"

"Where you brave?"

"We were so brave" Pecha fake cried. "Cheri climbed the tree first, I followed so close behind. Just not close enough! It started raining as we climbed the trunk, and it was pouring by the time we got to the branch. I said we should get down from there, but Cheri, Cheri was so brave! She scurried to the end of the branch, where our damp treasure lay! That's when I saw it on the horizon, a human death-car!"

"Saying death a lot does not make this story real" I cried. Rush though didn't hear me.

"I cried out to Cheri! I told her to get down! She slipped though, and fell into the path of the oncoming death-car, right in front of it's glass front! She hit it hard, and was tossed aside like a rag-chu. I scrambled down the tree to where she had landed. Cheri's limbs were in positions no Chu's should be. The tears that rolled down my face matched the rain drops! I held Cheri's head as she died" Pecha managed to create fake tears, "I wanted to die!"

"Oh come on! How cheesy can you get?" Rush started bawling now.

"Poor Cheri! How sad!"

"You win" Trish said, through clenched beak.

"Thank you" I looked up at Flash. "Just out of curiosity, who won the pool on what I was going to evolve into?"

"Now does that really matter? The winner won because they figure out your love of the night, and"

"Sharon huh?"

"Her guess was the night one. She didn't even know what she was talking about, she just wanted to take part in it. It mystifies me how that Flygon got it right"

"Pecha, I have a bone to pick with you!" We all turned, to see a very messed up Wisp. L3 lay at her feet, unconscious. Pecha looked disappointed at seeing her.

"What do you Vulwhore?" Pecha asked snidely.

"You got L3 to attack me!" Wisp said. "Why the hell did you do that?! Amusement, was that it? Was that is you sick freak?!"

"Lay off Wisp!" Rush cried, "Her sister died"

"Why, she have her killed?" As she and Rush began to squabble, Pecha pulled back, grinning from ear to ear.

"Rush bought my story"

"Congratulations" I said, "Now he'll never love you" Pecha's eye twitched.

"…What?"

"What do you think Rush is going to do when he finds out that you lied to him? He's going to hate you! You manipulated him into feeling sorry for you!"

"You told me to!" Pecha protested.

"I told you not to, dumbass. You ignored me and did what you wanted. Well, congratulations! Rush will never love you" Pecha stood there, froze. Flash, Trish, and I moved on.

"That was mean" Trish said.

"Yeah, well somebody needed to knock her royal ass down a peg or two" I replied. What none of us could see was Pecha sitting there, her lower lip trembling.

"I just want Rush to love me?" She asked in a cracking voice, "What do I have to do to get that?! What do I have to do?"

"Pecha?" The little Chu looked up to see Lisa, who had nearly gotten stepped on. "Something wrong?" Pecha burst into tears. "Oh come here Pecha" Lisa reached down and scooped up the little Chu. Pecha buried her head into Lisa's hair, sobbing uncontrollably. "Shh, it's okay, everything's fine" It wasn't though. If Lisa could have heard her, she would have heard Pecha.

"I just want to be loved"


	71. Titan Loves Sharon

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXXI: Titan Loves Sharon**

Two days later we were outside of Petalburg, but not to the woods yet. Another day of walking awaited us before we even got to the woods on this several week long journey. Today was special though.

The egg was glowing.

"It could hatch at any time" Michael said, polishing the glowing egg, "So we're not going to be taking off until it does"

"The glowing is just an estimation" Lisa said, "It could be a whole day before it hatches!"

"Then we wait a day" Michael replied, "The point is that we're not leaving, so drop it" Sharon reached out and poked the egg. Seeing as we were not moving, Michael had let Sharon out of her ball. Currently she was laying on her side, staring at the egg, utterly mystified. Titan was staring at her, seething with anger.

Pecha was still clinging to Lisa with a steel grip. Ever since she had spun her sob story to Rush, and I yelled at her, she had been clinging to Lisa. I tried talking to her, she assured me she was fine, but even she didn't sound like she believed it.

Rush and Wisp had made nice by now. I couldn't help but wonder, why Rush? Rush had been (and I suspected still was) in love with what he couldn't have. What he might be able to have (Wisp), he might not want. What he could have with out question (Pecha) he barley knew existed. I could tell that this was headed towards a big blow up. What I didn't know was that it would be right at the center of the group civil war.

But more on that later.

"Titan, why does my chest hurt?" Sharon whispered. "Why do I hurt?"

"No reason, shut it" Titan replied.

"Titan is miserable" Enfer said to me.

"Isn't this usually a speech Flash would give?" I asked.

"He and Trish are walking through the woods" Enfer said, "Talking about trees and their observations on us. I'll just have to do" She sat down beside me. "Titan is miserable, and it's because he's sick about Sharon. He loves her, very deeply loves her"

"Then why not say it?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Because he's a hard headed nit-wit" Enfer said. "He's jealous that Sharon evolved and he still hasn't. He's angry that she almost died. If Titan doesn't deal with these feelings, he'll end up doing something stupid and blow whatever chances the two of them have at happiness"

"Why did Titan fall for her?" I ask, "And how come only you, Flash, and Trish noticed?"

"We pay attention. Titan likes that innocent quality Sharon has, he never fights against her when she gnaws on his head"

"Okay, how do I get him to admit his feelings?" I asked. "He's steel-type, fry his fucking ass"

"First, he's part rock-type, you know that, lighting him up would only be for your own amusement wouldn't it?" I grinned and nodded. "Second, their isn't a thing we can do, Titan has to do it himself. We just have to wait and watch"

"Michael, what are you going to do when that thing hatches?" Louis asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean" He continued, "When you put it in a ball, it'll go into one of those computer boxes. You already have six pokemon out, what are you going to do?" Michael sighed.

"I don't know dude, okay. I'll have to think about it" Sharon reached over and poked the egg again. Titan growled.

"Would you stop it?" Sharon looked down at him curiously. Titan's angry face was reflected in her goggle eyes.

"Did I do something wrong?" Sharon asked innocently. She didn't have a clue why Titan was so pissy.

"Yes you did something wrong" Titan said, "You're still obsessing about shiny things, you need to stop it" Sharon smiled, and grabbed onto Titan. The Lairon struggled, but she pulled him close to her.

"Don't be jealous" She said obliviously. "You're the only shiny for me Titan" It was actually kind of sweet, in an obliviously cute sort of way.

"I don't care!" Titan roared, getting out of her grasp. "I don't want to be your shiny, who talks like that?!" Titan then stormed off, headed towards the woods. Michael was to focused on the egg to notice, Lisa and Louis to focused on each other, so Titan got away with little notice. Sharon watched him go, before breaking down bawling.

"I'll deal with Sharon" Enfer said, "You go deal with Titan"

"Why me?"

"Angela, don't complain" I sighed, and chased after Titan, barley keeping up with him(The sunlight made me lethargic). I made it to the edge of the woods, and almost ran into Bane as he stepped out from behind a tree.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Let me come with you to talk to Titan" Bane whined. "I don't have anything to do, all I ever do is sit around and"

"Chiquitita"

"Chiquitita tell me what's wrong" Bane began. "You're enchained by your own sorrow" As he sang, I paused. I couldn't help it, he did have a beautiful voice. I'd never seen him dance, but I knew he could sing. Finally, when the song ended, I sighed.

"You really want to come?" Bane nodded vigorously. "Then let's go" We set off.

As we entered the woods, Pecha began to loosen her death grip on Lisa's hair. Lisa was now laying on her back, eyes closed, asleep. Pecha needed to get out of there, she needed to find Rush.

_Cursing Eeveon was wrong_ Pecha said to herself, _Rush will still love me, I have to find him. Then I'll eliminate Vulwhore._

Hovering above Pecha was an invisible Not Milotic. She smiled down at the Pichu.

"Paranoia" She whispered. The magic would take effect almost immediately. Not Milotic had introduced extreme paranoia into the Chu's mind, it would just take the right event to set her off…

We came across Titan pressed against a large tree. His back was towards us, and his head was down. Unless I was mistaken, I heard him crying.

"Titan?" He looked up quickly, the sun light glinting off of his metal helmet. His eyes (the only soft part of his body) were puffy and wet. "Oh shit, Titan, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing" Titan snarled. "Nothings wrong, leave me alone, go fuck your self" I decided to comply, and turned to leave. Bane gripped me by my forehead, picked me off of the ground, spun me around, and set me back down.

Stupid super strong blue jackal thing.

"Can't do that Titan" I said, strongly wishing I could. "You yelled at Sharon, you hurt her feelings for no reason, and I'm going to drag your rocky ass back to the group" Titan ignored me. I fired a shadow ball, which promptly vanished when it hit his armor. "Come on Titan, lets go"

"I told you to piss off" He growled. I once again turned to leave, only to have Bane flip me around yet again.

"Enfer sent you to make sure I didn't leave, didn't she?"

"How did you guess?" I wanted to scream, but trying to leave would mean he would karate chop me. Since I was dark-type, that would about break my spine. I gave up, and walked back to Titan. He was staring at a rock on the ground, pawing at it for some reason. When he did, he would cause a few sparks.

"Titan, you've been pissy since we were last in Petalburg, what's your problem? Come on, loop me in tin one" Aren't I a poet? Titan looked up at me, tears and rage mixed.

"Angel, I know you want to help, but stop it and leave me alone. I need to be alone" He went back to hitting the rock.

"Look, I can't even pretend I understand why your so upset" Titan cut me off.

"No Angel, you can't understand, you can't understand at all" He sighed. "I once had another trainer, let's call him Bimmy. I cared for Bimmy, he was my best friend. Bimmy viewed me as a piece of worthless shit, and he made sure I knew it" Titan gulped. "When I lost one battle to many, he ended up releasing me"

"Titan, I don't understand"

"Well maybe if you would shut up for a few seconds, you would understand!" Titan said, before continuing. "I didn't want to view people as friends, and I never ever wanted to view another pokemon as someone I could fall in love with. Then I met Sharon, and I hated her. Oh Christ how much I hated her. I hated how she would lift me off of the ground and chew on my skull, and how she would never leave me alone. At least, I thought I did. Then, something happened.

"It was like a switch went on in my head. As much as I thought I hated her, I realized I hated it more when she was gone. Yeah, I was starting to enjoy being with her, savoring every moment. Stupid isn't it?"

"Positively retarded" I replied.

"When Sharon got hurt" Titan began. His throat went dry, and he had to stop. "When Sharon got hurt…I wasn't there. I was unconscious in one of those damn pokeballs. I had to find out about it from you chuckle heads"

"Hey!" Me and Bane exclaimed in unison.

"I thought I was going to loose her" Titan said. "Only minutes after I realized how I felt, I thought I could loose her. When they said they could save her, I was so happy, I didn't even think about the fact she would end up evolving. They saved her, but she evolved Angel. We're not the same size, the same strength, we don't even stand on the same number of legs anymore"

"Titan" I said, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard" Titan sighed. "No seriously, that's about the dumbest" Bane grabbed my tail, and jerked me straight back. "Hey, what's the big idea?!"

"Angel, you're not sensitive enough" Bane stated. He looked at Titan. "So you're afraid of being abandoned?"

"Leave me alone" Titan said, "I don't have to listen to" Bane punched Titan in the chest. I heard all of the air leave Titan, and he buckled under Bane's small fist. He was quadruple effective against Titan.

"Glad your willing to listen" Bane said. "Titan, Angel was right about you being stupid. Do you actually know what real abandonment is?"

"Like you do?" Titan wheezed.

"Oh I do Titan" Bane replied, his eyes glinting in the light. "Believe me I do. I know what it's like to wonder if the people you love will abandon you. The difference is I actually know what it was like to be abandoned" I felt a chill in my blood, and I knew this story would not be pleasant. It got Titan's attention though.

"What do you mean?" Titan asked.

"My parents took a lot of pride in one of my abilities" Bane said, "They liked to show me off"

"Your fighting abilities? I mean, I know Lucario are battle crazy, but show off their Riolu?"

"Uh, yeah sure" Bane said. "Well my parents would tour me all across the region, showing off my…battle skills. My battle skills made them lots of cash"

"What's cash?" Titan asked.

"Never mind. My parents would get a lot of respect for showing off my battle skills. They liked the respect my skills brought me"

"Really, because I've never seen you in battle, and in all honest, I don't think you have skills"

"Do you want to tell the story?!" Titan's eyes went wide, and he shook his head. "Well, during one battle, I got hurt. Badly hurt. I broke both of my legs, and I ended up getting sick. It seemed like I was going to die for awhile. Well my parents couldn't use me if I died, so you know what they did?"

"What?"

"Turned tail and ran. Like a couple of uncaring bastard" Bane snarled. "Well I eventually got better, but the wound is still there. Six years later, I haven't forgotten them leaving me to die" He looked Titan in the eyes. "Do not for a second think you understand what it means to be betrayed. Sharon loves you, no matter what you think, Sharon still loves you. Get your ass back over there" Titan didn't need to be told twice. He got his tin ass moving. I walked over beside Bane.

"Nice story" He nodded.

"Thanks.

"The thing is, it was bullshit" I said. "I knew it was bullshit, and I think Titan suspected it was bullshit. Their was a certain degree of truth behind them" I looked at him. "Tell me, why did your parents abandon you?" Bane shook his head.

"There is a lot of truth behind them" Bane said, "But not what you think Angela. I can't tell you, not yet anyways"

"When can you?" He smiled.

"Soon enough" Bane whistled slowly. "Why is it that all of us, all humans reborn as pokemon, have skeletons in our closets?"

"I don't know Bane" I replied. "Let's get back" The two of us took off, not noticing one person listening to us. Pecha stepped out from behind a tree, mouth wide.

"Reborn humans?" She grinned. "This is so delicious"

* * *

Enfer had calmed Sharon down, and we had caught back up with Titan by the time we got back to the group. Lisa was still asleep. Louis was smoking a much cherished joint after knocking L3 to the ground. Michael was focused on the egg, that had begun to move.

"Hey" Enfer said, as we returned. "How did it go" Titan licked Sharon across the nose. Sharon responded by grabbing Titan in a full embrace.

"I think that sums it up" Suddenly, the egg began to crack.

"Oh Christ guys!" Michael said, "Guys!" He tapped Lisa on the leg. Bad idea. Lisa lurched up, and smacked Michael in the back of the head by accident. Michael, startled by this, let go of the egg.

"NO!" The egg flew and hit the ground hard. It had already begun to hatch, and now it began to shatter. Goo poured out across the ground, and pieces of shell clung to it. Slowly, the goo poured away, and we could see what was under there.

A baby Spinarak sat there. It blinked twice, and looked at Sharon and Titan. The first two people it saw.

_A baby pokemon bonds with the first two living things it sees_ I thought. _It's mother _I looked at Sharon, _And it's father _I looked at Titan.

_This will be fun._


	72. Mommy Sharon And Daddy Titan

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXXII: Mommy Sharon & Daddy Titan**

A wide array of reactions went through the group, after the egg hatched. Michael stared, mouth slightly agape. Lisa stared, as she jerked the joint from Louises mouth and pitched it behind her. I was on my back, laughing my ass off. Enfer whistled slowly, and Bane tried to make sure that this had just happened.

The best pair of reactions were Titan and Sharon. Titan froze completely. He didn't twitch, didn't blink, didn't even breath. I reached out and kicked him. He fell onto his side, limbs out straight and stiff. The ground shook when he hit.

Sharon though, Sharon had a different reaction. Her eyes went so wide you could fly a plane through her pupils, and never touch the iris.

"BABY!" Sharon screamed. If you blinked, you would have missed Sharon snatching the spider off of the ground. She then began to lick the goo clean off of it. One of the lumps of goo hit Titan on the face, and he finally went limp.

Lisa was the first one to speak. She looked at the Spinarak, then at Titan, then Sharon, then back to the Spinarak.

"What just happened?" Michael shrugged.

"I honestly have no idea" He replied. "I think that the Spinarak has identified Sharon and Titan as…As its parents" The Spinarak was now nuzzling against Sharon for warmth, pressing its self as tight as it could go. Michael tried to pry it from Sharon, and she bit him. "Okay, not going to try that again"

"My baby" Sharon whispered in a soothing voice. Titan pulled himself up. He started to stutter random sounds, unable to put the words together.

"Can a Flygon even have a Spinarak baby?" Louis asked.

"Yeah Louis, Sharon laid a Spinarak egg and then was kind enough to place it in my bag" Michael said, sarcasm dripping off his tongue. "Of course they can't have a Spinarak baby. I'm more curious as to why an egg ended up in my bag, and how I didn't notice it"

"Here's a question" Louis began, "What are you going to name it?" Much better question. Michael suddenly became attentive, as if possessed by another force.

"It's a he, and his name will be Dex" He said in a robotic voice. Yeah, this wasn't the work of a dimension jumping, time warping, not Meowth.

"Why Dex?" Lisa asked. Michael shook his head slowly.

"I don't know" Michael replied. "I don't even like the name. Don't hate it, but it wouldn't be high up on my list of names" Sharon giggled like a loon.

"Dex, do you like that name?" The Spinarak giggled, imitating Sharon. Sharon then tried to fly up, holding Dex.

Big mistake.

Sharon only made it a few feet in the air, before her muscles seized up. Each one went stiff, and she slowly began to sink down again, as if being pushed towards the ground.

The blood thinners kept her from having a heart attack, but she was still to weak to fly. Michael made sure the idiot Flygon was okay, although I think he should have smacked her upside the head.

"Sharon, you okay?" Titan asked, jumping straight up, suddenly concerned. Sharon smiled weakly, and held up the newly christened Dex.

"Saved our baby" Sharon said, "Say high Daddy" Titan collapsed upon seeing the spider. That wasn't a bad sign at all, was it? This time Michael poked Titan.

"Guys" Michael asked, "Where are Flash, or Wisp, or Rush, or Pecha?"

* * *

"Has anybody ever told you your altruistic?" Trish asked, as she fluttered beside Flash. Flash laughed at the comment.

"Altruism is something anyone can obtain after living a life like yours, or mine" He said, "But I have yet to obtain it" Trish smiled softly at him.

"Thank you for listening to my life story. I've had a hard time since that whole entire thing"

"You mean your mother murdering your father, after she set him up in a puppet regime so she could control your flock, in an overly complicated power bid, and then blaming you and having you expelled" Trish frowned.

"Yeah, that's what I meant by that entire thing" Trish sighed. "Are we crazy Flash?"

"What do you mean?"

"We've virtually barricaded ourselves off from the rest of the world. We still revel in our own misery. We've both had awful lives, and we barely interact with the rest of the world. We observe the lives of others, but we don't live our own. Can we be happy if we don't live our own lives? Is it possible?" Flash tired to answer, but he couldn't. For the first time in his life, Flash was at a complete loss for words. The question had him stumped.

"I uh, I live my own life Trish" Flash stuttered. The micro Skarmory laughed at this.

"Please, you spend all your time observing your friends, sneaking up on them, and dispensing advice when it's not wanted but desperately needed. You said you consider Angela one of your closest friends, but I bet she doesn't even know what your favorite color is" Trish fluttered in front of him, looking him straight in the eyes. "You never like to talk about yourself Flash. You like to listen, and that makes you a good Ampharos, but you never like to talk. I could count the number of things I know about you on one shiny wing" Flash blushed.

"I just…I don't like to talk about it, I mean me" Flash said. The two paused suddenly. They heard voices in the air, in the distance. Pecha, talking to someone. "Evil little Chu" Flash whispered, "Should we?"

"Investigate? Hell yes!" The two began to creep through the forest, careful not to step on any twigs. They ducked behind trees, as they moved through the forest. They came to a small clearing, where Pecha stood talking to Wisp and Rush. The two hid behind a large oak, and listened in.

* * *

"Then a sign came down from the heavens!" Pecha exclaimed, thrusting her small arms into the air. "A sign the should only be viewed by the future ruler of the world. I saw that Angel the Eeveon and Bane the, uh, small blue thing, were once human!"

"By a sign from heaven" Wisp said, "I assume you mean you overheard the two of them talking and heard them say that" Pecha's arms dropped.

"Why must you ruin the rant of the Chu? Why?" Pecha asked. "Yes though, I over heard them say that" She sighed. "We need to do something about this. Humans as pokemon are dangerous, there is no clue what they might do!" Above them all, completely invisible, Not Milotic smiled.

"Yes" She whispered, "Be afraid my puppets. Be afraid" Wisp sighed, and Rush grinned.

"I already knew Angel was once human" Rush said, "I've met other humans who were once pokemon" Both Wisp and Pecha looked at him.

"You didn't tell us?!" They exclaimed. Rush shrugged.

"Was I supposed to"

"That Mudkip really is cute but stupid" Trish whispered. Pecha sighed, clearly annoyed with Rush.

"When the two of us are married, he will never keep secrets from me" She mumbled. "We need to exterminate this threat immediately! We must excommunicate them from the group! We must remove Angel and Bane!" Usually, Pecha would never think to do something like that. She would use that information to blackmail Bane and Angel into being her slaves. Not Milotic had infected Pecha though, and now the little Chu would make sure Bane and Angel were gone.

"I don't know about this Pecha" Wisp said. "I understand that they didn't tell us about them being human, but" Not Milotic floated down, between Rush and Wisp.

"Paranoia" She whispered.

"They lied to us" Wisp said. "They intentionally withheld the truth from us! We can't trust them, we need them gone"

"We can trust them!" Rush cried. "I can't believe what you're saying. Angel is my friend! Bane…Bane makes me laugh, he sure can sing"

"Why aren't you afraid?" Not Milotic mumbled, studying the little Kip. Rush of course didn't notice her.

"We're not saying we want to kick them out of the group yet" Pecha said, "We're just saying we want to do it soon!"

"Not to soon" Wisp said to Pecha. "First we need to figure out something. We need to find out who else in our group is an actual pokemon, and whose a human. Next, we need to win over their loyalty, we wont make any progress without numbers. Rush, when the time comes, we'll expect you to join us" Rush didn't say anything, he just sat there. "Good, now come on, let's head back to the group"

As Rush, Wisp, and Pecha headed off, Flash and Trish looked at each other, stunned.

"So Angel and Bane are human?"

"Yeah, I already knew" Flash said. "I was more amazed by Pecha. What is she planning, more importantly, what are she and Wisp planning?"

"I don't know" Trish said, "But I'm certain it doesn't mean good things for your group"

* * *

Pecha, Wisp, and Rush returned to us a few minutes later, but I didn't notice. I was to busy dealing with Titan, who still hadn't spoken.

"Come on Titan, I know it's a lot to deal with" I said, "But you're going to have to deal with it" He looked up at me, eyes wide with confusion.

"I have a child"

"Yes you do"

"I have a son"

"That is correct sir"

"Who happens to be a Spinarak named Dex"

"Affirmative"

"Whose mother happens to be a psychotic, near death Flygon, who I have fallen in love with for some reason"

"Right again" Titan screamed.

"Why does it have to be me?! Why does the crazy have to happen to me now?" He closed his eyes and sighed. "I can't do this Angel, I just can't. I mean, having a child suddenly, I can deal with that. Having one with Sharon, odd, but I can deal with that also! At least I could if it were a Trapinch, Aron, or some kind of combination! A Spinarak though?! I'm not a Spinarak, Sharon's not a Spinarak, what do we know about one?" I grinned.

"Your right, Sharon's not a Spinarak. She's an uber-Gyarados" Titan tried to stifle a grin, but it still came out.

"Yeah, she is an uber-Gyarados" He blinked tears back rapidly. "Angel, I didn't have good parents. That's not true, I had a good father. My mother ran away when I was young, and my dad tried his best, but raising me killed him. Dex saw me when he was hatched. He's going to think I'm his father, I can live with that. I'm going to raise him, I decided that the moment Dex hatched. I don't know though if I can do a good job of raising him Angel. What if something happens to me, or Sharon. What will happen to Dex then?" He was beginning to hyperventilate, so I tried to calm him down.

"Nothing is going to happen" I said to him. "If you worry about it, you'll obsess. You don't need that, and in the state Sharon is in, she can't handle the stress. Nothing will happen to you guys"

My dear listener, I can look back on that and say that wasn't true. That far to soon, the worst event in my life, worse then even that night in the woods, would happen. I didn't know it then though.

"You're going to be great Titan" I said.

"How do you know?"

"I just know Titan" By that point in time, Sharon had passed out. Dex had been sleeping, and decided to use that moment to wake up. He looked up at Titan, and made some kind of noise. Titan smiled, and bent his head down, allowing Dex to climb on.

"Oh come on, he's only been alive a few hours!" I moaned, "It took me a week to learn to walk!" Dex climbed onto Titans back, and fell asleep again. Titan smiled contently, but I could see the traces of fear in his eyes.

"So what are you going to do about Dex?" Lisa asked, "Put it in a ball? Train it? What?" Michael shook his head.

"It's Sharon and Titan's child. Not by blood mind you, but it's still their child. I can't take it away from them" He stroked Sharon gently. "Imagine what would have happened if someone took Angel away from me! I couldn't live with it, and I know Dex wont be able to take being separated from his mother" Titan now lay down to go to sleep, Dex on top of him. He lay beside Sharon, and the three looked so peaceful.

I think right then I knew it would be alright.

* * *

"I still don't understand this" Tagger said to Not Milotic. "A simple, straight-forward approach will"

"A simple, straight-forward bullshit will not work, it hasn't destroyed them yet, and it will not start now!" Not Milotic laughed, "The way I've got it planned, they'll all destroy themselves. All we have to do is sit back and" Suddenly, Not Milotic was pulled away from Tagger. She found herself floating in eternity. "I was wondering when you would show up" Not Meowth scowled.

"If we were both alive, I would kill you" He said to her, earning a smirk on her face.

"You know" Not Milotic said, looking around the endless void, "This place looks nicer each time I visit. The Ancient One sure did do a good job in designing it"

"So you're going to avoid the issue?"

"Lovely weather we're having" Not Meowth screamed. Not Milotic laughed a second time. "Causing paranoia hasn't broken any of the rules. I can only increase emotions that are all ready there. Now that I think about it, that's probably why I couldn't infect that damn Mudkip"

"I may not be able to undo what you've done" Not Meowth growled. "Or what you're going to do. I can however fight against you, and I'll make sure your plan doesn't work"

"You don't have a chance" Not Milotic said snidely.

"You bet I will" Not Meowth growled. "If you ever do anything else like this, I swear I will destroy you. If I have to take the entire earth with me, I will destroy you"

"I happily await that day" Not Milotic replied. Without another word, she departed from him, leaving Not Meowth floating in eternity.


	73. Dana Returns

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXXIII: Dana Returns**

The next morning was hot and windy. Clouds overhead indicated an approaching thunderstorm. What I didn't know when I woke up was, that wasn't the only storm approaching. More on that later though.

Sharon was back in her pokeball, after giving a teary good-bye to Dex (As I said, she'd see him again in a few hours, but did she care?). Dex was now riding on Titan's head, asleep. Titan seemed okay with this arrangement, but he also seemed different. Not once today had he hit on me! It was…scary.

Wisp and Pecha were hanging out, yet another thing that freaked me out. Why on earth would Wisp hang out with Pecha. Pecha may be cute, but she's still psycho. Not only that, but Pecha called her Vulwhore, and Wisp said she wouldn't join the New Chu Order. Odd… Both of them were walking behind Lisa, completely absorbed in their conversation.

Rush was behind them. He seemed upset by their conversation, yet again I didn't know why. Bane was singing like a loon, someone having mentioned Merrily We Roll Along. Flash was alone for once, and his eyes were closed. He seemed so calm I could have fired a gun at him, and he wouldn't notice. Enfer was behind me, making sure every one in our group was here.

"Hello Angel" Nel said. I looked down at the little Skitty, surprised.

"Where did you come from?" I asked. "More importantly, where were you yesterday, I never saw you" Nel looked up at me, sad.

"You really didn't notice, did you?" She sighed. "We're near the beach, so I went down to see the ocean. I wanted to be alone" Nel blinked back tears. "Angel, do I have any value?" Great, one of those conversations.

"What do you mean Nel?"

"I don't battle" She said, "I'm scared of everything. I just want things to be nice and happy, but it doesn't get that way. How can I prove I have value Angel? What should I do?"

"I don't know, isn't this kind of philosophical shit Flash's department?" I asked. Nel ignored my rather obvious discomfort, and desperation to get away.

"Angel when you battle, how do you feel?" I shrugged.

"I dunno, like I'm kicking ass" I grinned. "I feel like they should be on all four of their knees, begging me for mercy!" Nel gave me an odd look. "I might have a few unresolved issues"

"I've been wondering about that ever since the battle in Petalburg" Nel said. "Sharon took down two of those pokemon, and then got her back broken. You were all so concerned about her, so worried if she would be okay. It made me wonder, what if that happened to me? Would anyone care if I was okay?"

"I don't know, would they?" I asked. "Louis values you, for some reason. If you got hurt, and he wasn't drunk, he would get drunk just so he wouldn't have to be sad" I don't think that was comforting, since Nel's eyes went wide as dinner plates.

"I need to battle" Nel mumbled, though my large ears picked up on it. Before I could respond, a large rain drop fell and hit me between the eyes. Then another one hit me on the back. Then the down pour started.

"Oh crap" Michael cried, "The entrance to the woods is over there, everyone run"

"Uh Michael, no offence" Lisa said, holding up her cane. "A marathon runner I'm not!" We rushed over to the woods, while Lisa hobbled behind us. Enfer ran and let Lisa sit on her back, so she could make it to the woods right as the lightning started.

* * *

Petalburg woods are so thick that they black out the sun. The branches are a natural canopy that can stop all rain. Lisa was still riding on Enfer, not looking like she wanted to get off anytime soon.

"My fur's all wet" I groaned. "I'm going to smell like shit" Nel shook her self dry, splattering me with water. All of her pink fur stood straight up, and she vaguely resembled a puff ball.

"How far until the next gym?" Louis whined. "I feel like I've been walking forever. I don't want to walk anymore"

"Well" Michael said, "If we walk from sun up till sun down, we'll arrive at Fortree in six weeks" Louis screamed.

"Why?" Michael shrugged.

"Because it made sense to have the fifth gym located before the first, and the sixth located on the far side of the earth?" Michael sighed. "Not looking forward to this gym, Winona is supposed to be the hardest gym leader of all of them"

"She's a flying type, how hard could she be?" Words like that highlighted the stupidity that was Louis. That statement would go on to be infamous, but more on that later. "Better question, why did we go back to Littleroot if it is a six week walk?"

"I had to deal with several personal problems!" Michael cried. "Does that matter at all to you?" Louis shook his head.

"No, not really. Should it"

"Hurry up Sven!" A new voice cried. We all looked up, even Bane who didn't know who the voice belonged to. Oh Christ, not her, the only person worse then Robin. It just couldn't be her.

"Yes Ms. Dana" Two male voices said in unison. In front of us, from behind a tree, emerged three people. A copper haired woman, riding on the shoulders of two overly muscular men.

Yep, it was Dana. Looking like Cleopatra on the shoulders of two morons. The two idiots were dressed in all black, including black skin tight T-shirts. They were both wearing sunglasses, and it was extremely difficult to take either of them seriously.

"Oh no, Dana" Lisa moaned. "Quick, let's get the fuck out of here"

"What's she doing here?" Louis asked. One thing I noticed was Dana's nose. The last time we had seen her, Lisa broke Dana's nose. Well, they had removed the bone shards from Dana's nose, and it was now small. To small in fact. It looked freakish on her face. Dana finally noticed our little group. Her greedy eyes went wide.

"Lisa" Dana said, in her usually condescending manner. She turned to Michael, "Boy", then Louis, "Stoner".

"Dana" They said in unison.

"We missed your sparkling personality" Michael said. The same way you might say, miss gonorrhea.

"Of course you did" Dana said, not picking up on his sarcasm. "May I ask what you rambling band of fuckers are doing here?" Lisa ground her teeth at her sisters words.

"We're headed to Fortree city" Lisa said, trying to control her disgust. "Why are you here?" Dana smiled, only her top row of teeth showing. Lisa began to tremble slightly. For some reason, just the thought of her sister brought out all sorts of unpleasant emotions.

"I'm headed to Rustburo" Dana said. She looked at her manicured fingernails lazily. "I've decided to be a trainer until my singing career takes off. I figured, if you could do it, how hard could it be?" The arrogance of this statement made my blood boil. First off, you don't just decide to be a trainer for a hobby. You're a trainer until you just can't do it any more.

Second, Lisa was sort of my friend. I may only somewhat respect her as a human, but as a trainer, she was a goddess. Lisa beat the Elite 4 in record time. She beat the champion of Johto (who the hell names their child after a precious metal?). Saying you could be as good as an uncrowned champion displayed a level of arrogance I didn't think was possible. That statement pissed on all of the work I had put into my book.

On the plus side, Lisa seemed equally annoyed. She jumped (hobbled) off of Enfer, and steadied her cane. Her face was as red as a tomato, eyes bulging out of her skull.

"First off, training takes a lot of work" Lisa growled, using all of her energy to control her voice. Louis and Michael stepped out of the way, so Lisa could hobble forward. "You have to work with each of your pokemon, build a bond of trust, level them up, and learn through experience. You can't just roll out of bed and become a great trainer! Second, Rustburo is that direction" She said, pointing, "You dumb shit". Dana's smile turned to a scowl.

"I knew that, and Sven knew that too! Right Sven?"

"Yes Ms. Dana" They said in unison. Dana looked down on us from her nit-wit throne.

"You people can accompany me!" She said, like she was doing us a favor. Michael and Louis's face told me that thought appealed to them like a kick in the nuts. Lisa though looked calm, odd.

"Why do you call them Sven?" She asked Dana. Dana looked at her like she was an idiot.

"Their names are Steven and Even (pronounced Eh-ven). I combined their names, for an easy nickname to call them by"

"There is a subtle, racist genius to this woman" Enfer said. I laughed to myself, I couldn't help it.

"Okay Dana" Michael said, taking the bullet for Lisa, "You can't combine Steven and Even to get Sven"

"And why not boy?" Michael scowled slightly at being called boy, but he let it drop.

"Because if you combine Steven and Even, you get Stevenen. You can't combine two things and come out with less then you started! Also, calling them by a single name is degrading on so many levels" He looked at both of Sven. "You don't like getting called by a single name, right?"

"Sven lives to serve mistress Dana" They said in unison. Michael sighed, and buried his head in his hands. We started to head out again, now followed by Dana.

"Dana, what pokemon do you have?" Lisa asked. Dana shrugged.

"I dunno, Sven what do I have?" Sven each pulled out one pokeball. They tossed them into the air. A Stunky and an albino Mightyena popped out. The Stunky looked unpleasant, about normal for a Stunky. The Mightyena…

A sudden vision. A man, his face contorted in fear. I only saw his face for a second though, before is exploded in a cloud of bone, blood, and brain matter. Great, a reborn. Not only a reborn, but a reborn whose head blew up and who now belonged to Dana!

"Uh, nice" Louis said.

"What are their names?" Lisa asked. Dana shrugged, completely clueless. The sign of a loving trainer!

"Uh Streak" She said pointing at the Stunky, "And Shoe" She pointed at the Mightyena.

"I knew a Poochyena named Shu" I heard Wisp say.

"Shoe?" Lisa asked. "Why not name them Via and Spiga?"

"Because that would imply I cared" Dana said. "So Lisa, have you been in contact with that nigger you were fucking lately?" Lisa ignored this. "Because I ran into him" This got her attention.

"You saw Charlie?" Lisa asked, trembling. "W-where?"

"In a town full of gooks and yellow heads. Also known as the town of none of your damn business" Dana said, showing just what a stupid bitch she was.

"Dana, could you please shut your fucking mouth?" Michael asked. Her mouth dropped, and mine did to. Michael said fuck. I was so proud.

"How dare you talk to me like that boy!" Dana cried, looking down at us from Sven. "Do you know who I am?"

"No, should I?" Dana gasped in shock.

"I am Dana Jeffries! I will not be talked down to by my traveling companion"

"The thing is Dana" Michael said. "Lisa doesn't get to decide who travels with our group, I do. Even if she did, she never said she wanted you here, you dumb ugly whore. You just invited yourself along" Dana's eyes began to twitch.

"Lousy little trainer, how dare you speak down to your betters!"

"You're a trainer two, you dumbass"

"I LIED" Dana screamed suddenly. That got every ones attention. Sven turned, so that Dana was facing the entire group. Lisa swallowed and closed her eyes, controlling her anger.

"What do you mean you lied Dana?" Dana laughed.

"I would never degrade myself as a trainer! I know where Rustburo is, I'm not a moron!" The jury is still out on that one. "I was looking for you. I wanted to find you"

"Why?" Dana began to tear up.

"Because you stole my sweet little Chu from me" She cried. "You took my Pecha from me! I was going to wait until you were asleep, then take Pecha back, but I can't stand to be around you for that long"

"Did I ever belong to this copper haired human?" Pecha asked. "Remember not I!"

"Pecha still loves me I'm sure" Dana said, "Waiting for her true mistress to return"

"Pecha doesn't remember you at all!" Lisa exclaimed. "You were awful, you never fed her, and you abused her. I wouldn't be at all surprised if you did the same thing to Streak and Shoe. Speaking of which, why do you have them if you were lying?"

"So you would believe me lie" Dana growled. "I needed them for this"

"When you had Pecha back, what would you do with them?" Dana shrugged.

"I don't know, and I don't care, that's not important" She said. "What is important is that at least I would have Pecha back" Lisa sighed.

"Dana, that is by far the most evil, most underhanded thing you've ever planned on doing" Lisa grinned, "But I'll make you a deal. I'll give you a chance to get Pecha back" Dana's face lit up. "A pokemon battle. You don't even have to battle Dana, you can have those two things do it for you. You win, you get Pecha. I win though, I get Streak, Shoe, and you leave and never talk to me again"

"Deal" Dana said. "Whose your second?"

"…Second?"

"You're not going to battle against Sven alone" Dana said, "Whose your partner?" Michael began to lift his hand.

"I'll do it" Louis cried. We all groaned.

"This just keeps getting better" Dana said. "Whose your pokemon sister?"

"Wisp" Lisa said. The Vulpix walked forward, shooting Dana a disgusted look.

"Hmm, who do I want?" Louis asked.

"Me!" Enfer barked. Nel started to paw at Louises leg. He looked down, and grinned.

"I'll take Nel"

"Idiot!" I screamed.

"Then it's settled" Dana said, climbing off of Sven. Louis and Lisa faced the Sven's. Wisp and Nel shook with anxiety. Shoe gulped, and Streak….no real emotion.

This would be fun.


	74. Lisa Vs Dana

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXXIV: Lisa VS. Dana**

I use to believe that it wasn't possible for the human race to agree on one thing. That it was impossible for their to be one issue that could bring unity to the entire human race. Then I met Dana. Now I know there is one thing that could bring peace and harmony on earth. The entire world could be united in their hatred of Dana.

Lisa had been waiting for this moment for most of her life. Her child hood had been hellish, and her sister had only made it worse. Granted, she did get to break Dana's nose once, it hadn't been enough though. Popping her sisters inflated ego in a pokemon battle, now that would work.

"Kick her dyke ass Sven" Dana ranted.

"Sven will mistress Dana" Sven said in unison.

"I don't want to be separated from my wonderful Kip!" Pecha whined. "I refuse to go with copper haired human"

"If Lisa wins, you wont go with Klaus Barbie over there" I said sarcastically. "Do you have that much confidence in your trainers abilities?" Pecha buried her stupid head in her hands and wept. "You are pathetic"

"Is something wrong Pecha?" Rush asked, walking up beside her. Pecha looked up at him. She then grabbed him in such a tight hug his eyes started to bulge. Rush gasped desperately. "I can't breathe Pecha"

"Shush, don't worry. Every thing will be okay my Kip" Pecha whispered, stroking his fin. Yet Rush still couldn't figure out that Pecha was hopelessly in love with him.

"You can have the first move" Lisa said to Sven/Dana. Dana sneered at her sister. She turned to the left Sven, the one with Streak.

"Stunky, night slash on the Vulpix" Streak's claws glowed a dark purple. Lisa looked down at Wisp.

"Ready Wisp?"

"Vul"

"Flamethrower!" Wisp jumped up, opened her mouth, and….nothing happened. No smoke, no embers, nothing. She didn't even twitch when the Stunky slammed its glowing claws into her back.

Nel (along with the rest of us) stared at her, wide eyed. Wisp stood back up, virtually unaffected. Suddenly, the flamethrower erupted from her mouth, hitting nothing since Streak was already out of the way.

"What was that?" Nel cried. Wisp ignored the terrified Skitty though. She was mumbling something under her breath, twitching slightly, wondering why the flamethrower had been on a time delay.

"Nel, do" Louis began, "Uh, do something"

"Mightyena use bite" Sven said. Shoe ran straight at Nel, mouth open, ready to bite down on her. "Oh! Nel, do you know any thing with metal?" Nel jumped straight up in the air. Her tail began to glow bright white, and she slammed it on Shoe, hitting him between the eyes. "How the hell did you do that?" My thoughts exactly.

Shoe stumbled away, head spinning after the iron tail to the head. Nel landed gracefully beside Wisp. The Vulpix was in shock, staring at Nel. I didn't know what was more surprising, Nel knowing attacks, or Wisp not using any.

"Wisp, what's wrong?" Nel asked.

"N-nothing I'm fine" Wisp grumbled.

"Stunky, dig" The Stunky burrowed underground, both Wisp and Nel jumped back. Streak burst out of the ground right behind Wisp. He bit at her, but Wisp dogged him. Her heart was racing so fast I could hear it.

"Obsidian was right" Wisp mumbled, "This is going to get me killed" Shoe rushed at Nel, who head butted the Mightyena in the head. Once again it stunned him, and gave Nel plenty of time to get away.

"When I win" Lisa said, "I'm renaming Shoe"

"He wont answer to any other name" Dana said.

"Well then I'll change the spelling, spell it with a U. Make it so it doesn't sound like you named him while clothing shopping" She then noticed Wisp was shaking lie a leaf. "Hold the battle for a second"

"Stupid cunt" Lisa ignored this, bent down to Wisp, and looked the Vulpix in the eyes. "Are you okay Wisp? Can you still battle?" Lisa had good reason to be worried, Wisp had seized up not once but twice.

"Vul" Wisp said confidently. Lisa nodded, and stood back up.

"We're ready" Lisa replied. "Wisp, confusion ray" This time Wisp was able to use the attack, the glowing ball of energy firing off from between her eyes at the Stunky. Streak used dig to avoid it, heading straight for Wisp. As its head emerged, Wisp unleashed a flamethrower, but Streak ducked down again.

Streak next shot out half-way down the tunnel, followed by a pillar of fire. He landed hard on his head, but was virtually unharmed.

At this same point in time, Nel and Shoe were circling each other. Usually you would expect both fighters faces to look fierce. Both of those idiots looked like they were about to cry, their bottom lips trembling in sync.

"I don't want to hurt you" Nel said.

"I know, me neither" Shoe said. "I'm afraid of her though"

"Your trainer? She seems awful"

"She is"

"Mightyena" Sven began, "Use dark pulse on the weak one" Nel tried to protest being called weak, only to have Shoe hit her with a pulse of energy at point blank range.

"You know thunder wave? That's awesome!" Louis said, not noticing Nel getting hurt. Michael had given Louis his pokedex, so he could see what Nel's level was and what attacks she knew. He finally noticed the slightly banged up little Skitty. "Awe shit Nel! Are you okay?"

"Ski?" Nel stood up slowly, woozy on all four of her legs. "I'm okay! The world is bright and spinning! So round!!!"

"Use, uh, use" He looked down at the pokedex. "Use return!" Nel started glowing and slammed into Shoe. Shoe took off like he had a rocket strapped to his ass. He plowed into the ground hard, finally rolling to a stop against a rock. "Wow, you must really like me" Nel landed cutely, although she still looked dizzy. Shoe looked like he was about to pass out, blood dribble out of a small cut on his forehead. He shook himself rapidly, droplets of blood flying all over the place.

Wisp and Streaks battle wasn't going much better. Streak looked tired with the battle almost bored. Wisp looked serious, but all it was were looks. Her heart was still pounding, and she had an air of anxiety to her.

"Stunky, toxic"

"Wisp safeguard!" Wisp glowed bright white as Streak caused poison gas to appear around her. "Good, now use body slam" Wisp ran at Streak and jumped, trying to hit him with her body. Streak bit Wisp in the side, and flung her straight into the ground hard. Wisp pulled herself up and head butted him.

"You're not taking me down" Streak growled.

"Do you want to get stuck with Dana?" The Stunky thought about it for a split second.

"Nope, still can't do it. Can't lose to you, even if it means being with that stupid drunk bitch" Streak then started to slash rapidly at Wisp, using furry swipes. One caught her across the nose, drawing heavy blood.

"Augh" Wisp cried, stumbling back.

"Wisp!" Lisa cried. Wisp ignored her trainer though. She shook it off, and continued with the battle. "Good job Wisp, you can do this. Flamethrower"

"Dig Stunky" Streak vanished beneath the ground. Wisp stuck her head in the hole, and unleashed her flamethrower.

Even from under the ground we could hear Streak scream in pain. He pulled himself out of the ground, his tail still slightly on fire. Streak looked at Wisp, seething with rage. He opened his mouth, and puked something black straight at Wisp. A sludge bomb, disgusting.

Wisp used ember, not bothering to waste a flame thrower. The sludge was instantly incinerated. She was distracted by that long enough for Streak to put his head down and charge. He hit Wisp in the chest, knocking her on her back. She tried to breath, but Streak had knocked the wind out of her.

Both trainers gave orders, but neither pokemon seemed to notice. Wisp jumped and started spinning, her entire body become covered in flames. Streak turned tail to run, but the fire spin caught up with him, and rolled over him. Wisp stopped spinning, and looked at Streak.

"I wont-I" Streak collapsed in a heap in front of Wisp.

"You loose" Wisp grinned. Lisa laughed crazily, and dropped to her knees. Wisp ran over, and Lisa grabbed her in a hug.

"I get to stayyyyyy!" Pecha cried, jumping up and down and kissing Rush all over the face.

"Nel still has to win" Pecha dropped like a stone in water.

"Damn it" Nel and Shoe's battle was still going strong. The two of them were both trying not to show any fear. To fucking late.

"Mightyena, payback"

"Nel, do double edge" Sven may have both been trainers, but they weren't good ones. Shoe hit Nel, but Nel slammed him and knocked him flat on his ass. She was pretty badly banged up, but still ready to fight.

"Toxic Mightyena" Nel didn't know safeguard, so unfortinently she ended up poisoned. Louis flipped through the pokedex, trying to figure out something to do.

"How can I get her unpoisoned?" He mumbled.

"Heal Bell!" We all screamed. Louis nodded.

"Oh right, heal bell" A loud bell chimed out, and Nel began to perk up. The signs of poison all vanished.

"I like bells" She said, "They're calm, peaceful. They make me giggle" Shoe smiled kindly at his opponent.

"Don't just stand their you worthless half bread piece of shit" Dana screamed, spit flying from her mouth. "Tear that stupid flea bags head off. Don't let that pot head queer beat you" I couldn't tell if she was screaming at Sven or at Shoe.

"Sucker punch" Sven said. Shoe reared up to attack Nel, only to fall back down. Suck punch only works if your opponent is preparing to attack. Louis though was preoccupied by looking through the pokedex.

"It says in battle your tail is supposed to poof out" Louis read. He looked at Nel and grinned. "Hey, it did poof out"

"Battle!" We screamed. Louis laughed.

"Oh right, I'm in the middle of battle, aren't I" He looked down at the pokedex. "Double slap" Seeing as Skitty stand on four legs, Nel's attack wasn't really a double slap. More like a double foreleg kick to the face. Shoe stumbled backwards, trying to stay on all four legs.

"Tackle!" Louis cried, not wasting anytime for Shoe to regain is balance. Nel ran at Shoe and jumped up, hitting him in the throat. Shoe coughed, and was flipped onto his back. Nel landed on his stomach. "Hyper beam"

"That coward knows hyper beam?" I asked. Nel, glowing like a light bulb, fired a giant blast of energy at point blank range hitting him in the stomach. Shoe's eyes and neck bulged. He then, and I'm not making this up, threw up. Nel jumped off of Shoe, who rolled onto his side and passed out.

We all just stood there, stunned. Nel had one a battle. Nel had fought against a Mightyena, a genuinely scary pokemon, and won. Nel knew hyperbeam. Nel…was no crying like a baby out of fear. Louis ran onto the battle field, and picked up Nel, who put her head in his shirt and sobbed.

"How the fuck did that happen?!" Dana screamed. Sven shrugged their shoulders, neither of them really seemed to care though. Dana shrieked like a banshee, and jumped onto Sven on the left. He fell on his back, and Dana started to smack him back and forth across the face.

"You lost you asshole" Dana screamed. "You've ruined me, you've ruined my life. It's all your fault, all your fucking fault" Lisa now was laughing, unable to contain her joy. Wisp riding on her shoulder, Lisa strolled over to her sister. She stepped over Shoe, pausing for a moment to look at the albino. Dana stood up, spitting on Sven once as she did.

"What the fuck do you want dyke?" Dana snarled.

"The terms of our bet Dana" Lisa said. "You owe me Shoe, whose name from now on will be spelled with a U. You also owe me Streak" Dana spit on Lisa also, but Lisa wiped it off of her face.

"I'll never let them go with a dyke fucking, tar baby cock-sucking, piece of shit like you" Dana screamed her eyes bulging out of her skull. Lisa ignored this rant, and held up her cane.

"Dana, this is my cane" She said, "Say hi cane" Lisa hit Dana in her significantly smaller nose. Blood spurted out, as the bones were ground into dust. Dana collapsed on the ground, cradling her face. Lisa turned to Sven, who had already recalled Streak and Shoe-er-Shu. "The balls, give them to me" They tossed them straight at Lisa, not needing to be told twice. She looked at them smiling, before turning to us.

"Let's go guys"

* * *

Hours later, staring out over the sleeping city of Rustburo, Louis remembered the last time he had been there. Mostly because he had been in custody at the time. All that trouble because he had pissed on a cop car! The shitter had been broken!

None of that mattered though. Now Louis was in a nicer hotel, and they were headed to Fortree. Enfer was asleep on the bed, Nel and L3 were in their balls for tonight. Louis needed a little alone time. He plopped on the bed and pulled out a joint. As he prepared to light up, someone knocked at the door.

"Fuck" He mumbled, putting the joint and lighter in his back pocket. Louis walked over to the door and opened it, to reveal Lisa. Her eyes were puffy, and she was sniffling. Looking up, she smiled.

"Can I come in?" Louis nodded, and Lisa walked in Enfer looked up sleepily, but quickly went back to sleep. Lisa collapsed on the bed and draped her arm over Enfer. Louis sat down beside her. "Do you hate my sister?" Louis shrugged.

"I dunno, do you want me to?" Lisa sighed.

"I don't even hate her. For all she's said and done, I can't hate her. Dana is a product of my parents. I left her there to rot in that hell, when she was already getting warped by their psychotic ideology. She became what they wanted her to be, brainless, racist, nihilistic. As much as I want to hate her, I hate my parents and pity her. I don't think there is any hope for her Louis. When I broke her nose, God I shouldn't have done that" Now she was beginning to cry. Louis took her hand in his.

"Lisa, you can't feel bad about that" Louis said. "Believe it or not, you helped her in away. Dana needs a wake up call. When you broke her nose the first time, she was changed, angry. This time though, I think that she will change. I think she'll relies that if she holds onto that anger, she'll end up really hurt. I think that she does want to change Lisa, and I'm sure that there's hope" Lisa stopped crying as he said this. She stood up, and looked at Louis, still smiling.

"Thanks Lou, I needed to hear that. Would you like to hear about how I was almost champion?"


	75. Division In The Group

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXXV: Division in the Group**

The next day was hot with heavy wind that blew my fur every which way. Michael and the rest of us waited outside of the hotel for Louis, Lisa, and everyone else. Titan had Dex on his head, fast asleep. He was oddly cute for a creepy ass spider.

Bane had his eyes closed and was leaning against the hotel. Seeing as I was bored, I decided to lighten up my morning. I snuck up beside him.

"Rider on the Storm" I whispered in his ear. Bane's eyes snapped open. His face contorted in rage, and he began to sing. I on the other hand, started to laugh my ass off.

"That wasn't nice" I screamed, and jumped straight up in the air, landing at Flashes feet. I jumped around to look at him.

"How? How did you get behind me? You were in front of me one moment ago! I saw you!" Flash ignored me though.

"You need to be nicer to your friends Angel, they're not toys for your own amusement"

"That's what you think" I mumbled. Flash sighed.

"Another thing I notice is Angel, you never notice when one of your team mates is in pain"

"Sure I do!" I protested.

"Really? Did you notice Rush?" Flash gestured past Michael and Bane. Rush was sitting in the shadow of the building. His eyes were dropped, and their was a frown on his small muzzle. Rush looked upset, about as much as he did when ever someone mentioned the scar on his tail fin.

"How long has he been like that?" I asked, now curious.

"The last three days. Before we met Dana" Flash looked down at me. "I'm surprised you never noticed. Rush is the optimism in our group, always positive. When he gets sad, things get…darker"

"Hey, I can be optimistic!" I replied. Flash fell to the ground, laughing so hard that tears started to roll down his muzzle. "Oh shut up!" At that moment, the doors to the hotel opened, and Lisa and Louis finally appeared.

"What took you two so long?" Michael asked. They looked at each other.

"Nothing" Lisa said. Louis nodded. He pulled out a small vodka bottle from his bag(Michael had forced Louis to start carrying one).

"Did you get that out of the mini-bar?" Louis nodded. "Do you know how expensive those things are? They cost a pint of blood!"

"Don't care" Louis said, taking a slug. "I needed a drink".

"Are you sure dude? It's real early in the morning" He finished off the bottle in three slugs. "Never mind"

* * *

As we exited the city, I noticed something in our group. Division, separate groups. Their was me, Bane, Titan, Dex, and Enfer. There was Shu and Streak walking behind us. Michael, Lisa, Pecha (on Lisa's shoulder), and Louis were another group. Rush was alone, Flash and Trish were practically alone. The group that disturbed me most though was Wisp, L3, and Nel. Wisp was talking to the two of them, and they hung on her every word. This unsettled me, but I didn't know why.

I pushed those feeling back, and instead chose to turn my attention to Shu and Streak. The two were being ignored by every one. I needed to know about Shu, more specifically who he had been while human.

Their weren't many of us in this group, I figured I might as well try to make friends with the few reborn.

"Bane, lets go talk to Shu" I said. He sighed.

"Why on earth would we want to do that?" Bane whined.

"Because he's a reborn. A reborn whose been stuck with Dana for God knows how long, and is now stuck with us. He's been mind fucked for so long, the least we can do is be kind to him"

"Why doesn't Enfer have to go?" Bane asked.

"Take a wild guess" Enfer growled. We turned and walked towards Streak and Shu. Shu looked slightly traumatized by the incident. I wish I could say I was surprised, but having to deal with Dana would do that to you. Streak looked calm, kind of out of it. For him, this was a vacation. Bane ended up breaking the ice for us.

"Greetings new group members" Shu and Streak looked up.

"You're one of the reborn" Shu said quietly. The albino Mightyena looked exhausted. His eyes were swollen and puffy. I could see his ribs through the fur on his sides. Even the fur on his face looked stretched as far as it could go.

"That we are" I said. I turned to Streak. "Do you know what that is?" He nodded. "Do you care?"

"Eh, caring about things is to much effort" Streak said. "I exist and I abide. Nothing else truly matters" I smiled at this. I liked Streak, couldn't help it. Also, I noticed he didn't smell like puke, unlike most Stunky. He was also extremely thin, but he seemed to hide it much better then Shu.

"You both look awful" Bane said, showing all of the tact of…well, me. Shu laughed to himself, as if it were some kind of wicked joke.

"Last night was the first time I ate in two weeks" Shu said. "Stale, dry pokemon food. It still tasted better then the air and insults that Dana fed me every day"

"What was it like dealing with her every day?" I asked.

"Remember what that blonde woman"

"Lisa, you're new trainer"

"….Lisa did to her nose? Well, every day I wanted to do that to her skull. She paid those two idiots to capture me, and then she only brought us out when she wanted to not feed us, and not deal with us!"

"The logic of that statement is astonishing"

"Shut up!" Shu said. "I had to battle for her, even though I didn't want to, even though I hated it, I had to battle for her. I had no choice in the matter" He screamed in frustration. "It's over now though, I'm done with Dana, and I'm here with you people. Speaking of which, I still haven't got your name"

"Angela" I said.

"Bane"

"Nice to meet both of you" Shu said. "Sorry about being all angry, but I've had to deal with Dana, among…other things"

"Yeah, we saw those things" I said. "Why did your head explode?" I am many things. Subtle is not one of them. Streak looked at him, still zoned out.

"Dude, your head exploded?" Streak giggled. "That's fucking awesome" Why wasn't he Louises pokemon?

"My head exploded" Shu said through gritted muzzle, "Because someone put a shotgun on my forehead and pulled the trigger. As for who did it, I refuse to say"

"Why not?"

"I don't know you!" Shu said. "Would you tell me why I saw a human girl hanging herself when I first saw you?" He turned to Bane, "Or why I saw a nine year old on a hospital bed flat lining when I first saw you?" Both me and Bane were silenced by this.

"What would you like to know about us?" I asked.

"Well, what's my trainer, uh Lisa, why does she have me? Better yet, why does she want me?" He paused, and looked at our group. "Among other questions, why is that man chugging small liquor bottles? Why is that Pichu on Lisa's shoulder ranting about Chu orders? Why does that Lairon have a Spinarak on its head? Why is that Ampharos talking to a midget Skarmory? Why is it when I saw that Arcanine, I saw a woman getting stabbed in the throat?"

"Because our group is one giant mind fuck" I said.

"….What?" I grinned.

"Don't worry Shu, you're going to be fine with us" I was wrong. I didn't know how wrong I was. As Bane and I talked to Shu, Wisp was talking to L3 and Nel.

"We can't trust Angel" Wisp said, "And we can't trust Bane. I don't think we can trust Enfer seeing as how close she is to Angel. We need to find out why these…human liars have infiltrated our group. What their purpose is, why they want to destroy us"

"I don't think they want to destroy us" L3 ranted. "If they did, wouldn't they have done it already?" L3 was unusually calm, taking breaths between words. Wisp had that kind of effect over pokemon.

Nel was having a different reaction to the information. As they marched on, she fought hard not to break down crying. She felt hurt, confused, but above all else, betrayed. Betrayed because they hadn't told her, because they had lied to her face. Because Angel had claimed to be her friend, and lied about who she was. Because Nel had poured her heart out to Angel.

"I'm at a lost for words" Nel said. "Angel was my friend. Why on earth wouldn't she tell me about this? I thought she cared about me, I thought we were friends. I thought I didn't have to be scared of her"

"You have to though" Wisp said. "Them lying is just proof of what I've always said, you can only trust yourself"

"You don't have to be scared!" L3 protested, her voice controlled so she didn't slip into rant. "Angel probably didn't tell you because she was afraid she might hurt you if she did"

"Well it did the opposite" Nel said, "She hurt me twice as much"

"Can't you forgive her for that?" L3 asked, "Either of you?" Of course they couldn't, Nel was to badly strung out on fear, while Wisp was warped by Not Milotic.

"It isn't a coincidence that another reborn showed up" Wisp said. "Who was there when they brought Bane into our group? Angel! Who was the first one to make friends with Bane? Angel! Who is the only person Bane talks to? Angel! It all comes back to her. They were both human, they're scheming something, I don't know what, but it's something. We need to get rid of them"

"They're essential parts of our team!" L3 said, "Not to mention they're both important to Michael" This shut Wisp up.

Wisp's past with humans for the most part, was a bad one. She had seen humans kill her family, seen humans put her into one of those blasted spheres. More specifically, Robin had done it, may she burn in hell. This group though had been different. Lisa had been loving, Louis good for a laugh, Michael cared very deeply for each of his pokemon. She didn't want to hurt them, but she couldn't trust Angel and Bane.

"If I can't trust them" Wisp said, "I can't live with them"

"I can't either" Nel said. "What if they are planning something? What if Louis is in on it? What if they" Nel's eyes began to go wide, as the panic attack set in.

"Calm down!" L3 said, shocked at her own words. Who would guess L3 would be the one to tell someone to calm down! Nel nodded, as her breathing began to slow down.

"I'm sorry" Nel said. "But I don't want to be scared. I've spent my entire life afraid of the sky, and the ground, and acid. Really scared of acid and trees. Also heavy winds, and fire! I don't want to be scared of my team mates"

"You can't remove them from the group" L3 said, "Or ask them to leave because you don't like what they once were!" Wisp looked L3 in the eyes.

"L3, we will remove them" She said in a semi-snarl. "When we do, you can chose to be with them, or with us. Make no mistake though, you must pick a side. Who will you stand with?"

Nothing much of importance happened until later. When the sun began to set, we were near the entrance to the Rustburo tunnel. Rather then journey through it and come out on the other side at sometime past midnight, we just decided to call it a day.

"Why are you holding Pecha like that?" Michael asked Lisa. She shrugged.

"Ever since running into Dana, I've felt more protective over my pokemon" Lisa said. "I can't hold Shu and Streak. As for Wisp, I tried to get her to ride on my shoulder, but she refused"

"Dana really did make you realize how much your pokemon mean to you?" Lisa smiled at Pecha.

"Yes she did. The stupid whore was good for that much. Besides, I can see Pecha loves me" She nuzzled Pecha's head.

"Let go of me Kip stealing whore!" Pecha ranted. "I'll zap you into the next life" Pecha charged up all of her electricity and released it. The problem is, Pecha had yet to successfully fire off an electricity. All she did was zap herself unconscious.

"Let's stop here" Michael said, "I know we're all hungry, and some of us are tired" They looked over at Louis. Louis had drunk so much his eyes were dropping and drool was pouring out of his mouth. We stopped, and Michael started to pull out bowls and food.

"Have you noticed something odd?" I asked Bane.

"What do you mean?"

"Wisp and Nel, they're avoiding us. Rush is avoiding the entire group!"

"I know, it's odd" Bane said. "I dunno, when we eat, why don't you try talking to them"

"Why don't you?"

"I don't like them. They kept making me sing What A Wonderful World!" Yeah, at my encouragement. I didn't bother telling him that.

Michael started setting out bowls of pokefood for us. Pokefood is specially designed for each pokemon. You can buy custom pokefood for your specific pokemon, and it's guaranteed they will like the taste.

Since Louis was a cheap bastard though, Michael could only afford the general food that tasted like saw dust. It all came in brown pellets, and tasted like garbage.

Michael set my bowl in front of me. I nudged it foreword, and over to Nel, who was staring at her food. She wasn't eating, she wasn't doing much of anything.

"Hey" I said, sitting beside her. Nel looked up, and scowled.

"What do you want?" Nel asked, an edge in her voice I had never heard before.

"Well, you seemed upset over something, so I came to see if I could do anything to"

"Well don't" Nel snarled.

"…Excuse me?"

"I don't want to talk to you" Nel said. "I want to be alone. Don't talk to me" With that, Nel stood up and walked off. I was left sitting there, mouth agape.

I had realized earlier, their were division lines in the group. I just didn't know how deep they ran.


	76. Breaking Point

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXXVI: Breaking Point**

Pecha and Wisp still needed at least three more pokemon on their side, before they could try to have me and Bane kicked out of the group. They also wanted Enfer removed, since they suspected that she was also a reborn. A week after leaving Rustburo, the group was camped out on Route 118. The next day they would cross the bridge and head up to Route 119.

The night was cool, and a breeze blew water from the beach. Nel and Pecha discussed their plans to remove the "humans" from their group. Wisp though was distracted, starring at Shu.

"Something wrong Vulwisp?" Pecha asked. Wisp shrugged her shoulders.

"The Mightyena, Shu" Wisp said. "I once knew a Poochyena named Shu. He was also an Albino Pochyena. This Shu reminds me of the one I knew"

"Is it the same one?"

"If it was, why doesn't he come over and talk to me!" Wisp cried. "We've been traveling together for more then long enough, he could talk to me" She sighed. "Maybe I should approach him, see if I can recruit him to our side"

"He's not the only one we'll need" Pecha said. "If we are to strong arm the Arcanine, we need something that can hurt her. We'll need the perverted Lairon and the half-wit Flygon"

"Are you out of your mind?" Nel cried. "Why on earth would we need them? He's a perv and she's a twit! We can't rely on them, they'll do something stupid!"

"Pecha doubts not the stupidity of them" Pecha proclaimed. "Care not do I! Pecha needs them as part of her master strategy!"

"Use a level 50 Lairon who should have evolved already" Wisp said, "And a Flygon with a heart condition. Great strategy Napoleon" Pecha, unable to figure out Wisp was being sarcastic, posed dramatically.

"With their help, we will drive the humans out of our group!" Pecha said, "Then we will dominate all! Then Rush will love me! New Chu Order! New Chu Order! Power to Pecha!"

"Power to Pecha!" Nel said timidly, raising her paw.

"Good Skitty" Pecha said, petting Nel on the head. No Chu was quite as condescending as Pecha was. "Now our plan is simple, we confront them on the next route, the one the humans claim is so long. We'll out number them two to one"

"It isn't out numbering Bane and Angel we need to worry about" Wisp said, "It's Enfer. Enfer is strong, possibly stronger then all of us combined, how do we convince her to leave?"

"Angel" Pecha said. "We threaten Angel, Enfer will leave. Enfer treats Angel like a daughter, she wont let any harm come to her"

"I want to do it" Nel said suddenly. "I want to do to Angel physically, what she did to me emotionally" The Skitty blinked rapidly. "She hurt me. God damn it, she hurt me" Nel broke down, but no one moved to comfort her.

"We need to convert the Lairon to our cause tomorrow" Pecha said, "If he comes, the Flygon will come. You talk to the white Mightyena, understand?" Wisp nodded. "Good, now I demand you sleep. We need rest for tomorrow"

* * *

The next day came way to soon for me. The sun was to bright, and on top of it we were walking across a bridge that was built over a river that was part of the ocean. Just looking down at it was enough to make me sick.

I had had many talks with Streak over the week, and by that I mean he always said good-night to me when I went to sleep, and I told him to fuck off.

He claimed he was just being nice.

Shu on the other hand, had refused to talk to me. Actually, he hadn't talked to anyone. Shu had pretty much secluded himself from the rest of our group. He walked towards the back, mumbling to himself. Lisa had tried to interact with him, since she was now his trainer, but he had pretty much ignored her.

Now that I think of it, our whole group for the most part was acting weird, I mean by our standards. Rush was acting depressed, and walked separate from the group. Titan was obsessed with the spider on his head. Wisp, Pecha, and Nel had not been five feet away from each other, except today. Flash and Trish were talking, as usual. L3 was…calm. I'd bet money she was about to evolve.

Enfer and Bane were two of the only pokemon in our group acting normal. I had discussed it with them, and they agreed with me, something was up. What was up though? No idea.

"Louis, how much have you been drinking?" Lisa asked. Yet another thing that was off. Louis shrugged his sagging shoulders.

"I dunno, this many" He waved his arms in the air. Even by his standards, Louis had been drinking a lot. His breath reeked of booze, and clothing stunk also.

"No more today dude" Michael said, wrinkling his nose. Louis sort of nodded. Even when nodding you could tell he didn't mean it.

"Why so many Lou? Lisa asked. "You've been drinking a lot lately, seriously A LOT" Louis shrugged his shoulders.

"I didn't notice. Throats been dry, just trying to keep it wet. Besides, what's the worst booze can do to me?"

"Do you need me to answer that question?" Lisa cried. "Besides, you can drink water"

"Where on earth would I get water?" Louis asked, as we stood on the bridge over the fresh-water river.

"No idea" Lisa said sarcastically.

As they argued, I noticed Wisp approach Shu. I tried to dismiss it as nothing, but I wondered, why would she want to talk to him?

"H-hello" Wisp said, timidly. Yes, that's right, timidly. Wisp was frightened. Shu looked down at her, slightly confused.

"Hi" Shu said, raising an eye-brow. The look summed it all up, why was this Vulpix talking to him.

"Look, I'll be straight with you" Wisp said. "Once, before I traveled with them, I knew a Poochyena. He was also named Shu, and he was also an albino" Wisp smiled softly. "Were you him?" Shu sighed.

"No idea" Wisp frowned. "Look, I'm sorry Vulpix"

"Wisp!"

"Wisp, but I wouldn't know if I knew you" Shu said. "The uh, last couple of years are just a blur"

"What do you mean by that?"

What did he mean? Shu hadn't shared this with anyone, not even me. For some reason though, he felt at ease with her.

"During my time with Dana" Shu said, "I was rarely, if ever fed. Dana smacked me around for shits and giggles. Well, one time she was in a particularly bad mood. Dana pitched a rock at me, slammed right into my head" He smiled. "I've completely forgotten the last few years of my life" Shu had forgotten every thing from his pokemon life, and most of the end of his human life. Of course, he wasn't going to tell Wisp he had been human. Hell, he hadn't wanted to tell me he was human.

"So, you could be my friend, and not remember?" Wisp asked. Shu smiled.

"Maybe" He said. "Why don't you share stories, try to get me to remember?" As the two of them talked, I was distracted a second time, this time by Pecha going over to Titan.

"Greetings, oh shiny one" Pecha said, catching Titan's attention. Titan frowned, looking at the little Chu.

"What do you want Pecha?"

"I come with information" She said. "That will blow your metallic mind hole. Tell me Titan, how well do you know your team mates?"

"Very well" Titan said. Dex shifted on his head, and he smiled. "Well enough anyways. Met the female I loved here, know Sharon perfectly"

"It's not Sharon I'm asking about" Pecha replied. "It's Angel the Eeveon. How well do you know Angel?"

"Better then anyone but Sharon" Titan said. "What is this about Pecha, because I'm busy doing anything else" He started to walk off.

"Angel is human!" Titan stopped in mid-step.

"….What?" Pecha came up to him, grinning. She stroked Dex on his back, and he cooed like a baby. This got another smile, except this one was genuine.

"Angel once was human" Pecha said. "Bane was also, and I'd bet my fur Enfer was. We want them out of the group and gone for good"

"Why on earth would I do that" Titan said, trying to keep his composure.

"Did you know Angel was human?" Titan shook his head. "Just as I thought. Now tell me, why would she hide these things from you?"

"She was probably self conscious about it" Titan stammered. Even he didn't sound like he believed that line of shit.

"She wanted to hide it from you" Pecha said. "She, and the other two, are planning something. I don't know what, but it's something. Now that you know, she'll go after me"

"What could she possibly do to me?" Titan said.

"Not you Titan, the one who sits on you" Even Pecha didn't want anything to happen to Dex, but she was being realistic. If I had been out to get Titan, I would have attacked Dex.

"I-I'll need to think about what you said" Titan said. "I'm not saying I believe you"

"Think fast" Pecha said, "War is coming"

I had been unable to hear their conversation, anymore then I had been able to hear Wisp and Shu's current conversation. I just know it unnerved me.

"How much more on this bridge?"

"We're only half way there" Michael said, "We still have a ways to go" A pair of heads emerged from the water beside the bridge. "I just hope we get to the other end before the sun goes all the way down"

"Hyyyyyyyyyaaaaa!" A new voice screamed. From the water jumped a pair of figures, a human and a pokemon. The human was a girl, I think, in a karate uniform. The pokemon was a Breloom. I barely noticed this though because I was stuck on the girl in the soaking wet karate uniform. Why in the hell had she been in the water, was she waiting for people to come by?

"Uh, hello" Michael said.

"I challenge you to a battle, traveling trainer" Karate girl said. "I demand to battle your Umbreon!"

"That's nice and all, but what's with the outfit?" The girl laughed, and her Breloom laughed with her.

"It's part of our theme! I train fighting-types!" She then did a karate chop thing, and was mimicked by her Breloom.

"Then why did you jump out of the water?" Lisa asked, equally confused by this kung-fu idiot.

"Excuse me?"

"Why did you jump out of the water? Why not wait on the bridge? I mean, if you're going to jump out of the water, why have a fighting-type theme? Why not have a water-type theme and wear a scuba outfit?"

"Uh, I uh?" The moron shook her head. "Enough talk!" She barked, "I demand to battle the male trainer and his Umbreon"

"Fine, I except" Michael said.

"Umbre!" He knelt down beside me.

"Look, I know you're week to fighting-type" Michael said. "But you're so strong, you're much stronger then her. Also, she annoys me, let's kick her butt"

"Umbre!" I faced the Breloom.

"Ladies may have first move" Michael said.

"I will take it!" She said, doing another karate chop. Dear God, I'd found the human equivalency of Pecha! "Bre, leach seed" Breloom opened it's mouth and vomited out about a dozen green seeds. Michael ordered a shadow ball, which I used to turn the seeds into dust.

The Breloom charged at me with Mach Punch. A common misconception about that attack was it never missed. No, it was fast and accurate, but it could miss. Like when I ducked under it and fired off a hidden power. It struck the Breloom in the chest, and caused him to double over.

"Isn't quadruple weakness a bitch?" I laughed. It swung at my head, and I jumped back. "Gotta do better then that"

"Dynamic punch!" Breloom struck me between the eyes, and sent me spinning.

"Yep, that should to do it" I said.

"Shadow ball" Michael ordered. The dynamic punch hadn't hurt as much as I thought it would, but it did leave me confused. I could barely focus my eyes. I ended up spinning around, towards out group.

"Angel, what are you doing?" Someone asked.

I fired.

The shadow ball spun out of control, and headed straight towards the last person I needed it to go at. It headed towards Titan, and in turn, towards Dex. Titan saw the shadow ball. He reared up on his hind legs as it prepared to strike, and it hit him on the metallic underside.

"Do you see?" Pecha asked. Panting heavily, Titan shot her a look.

"Maybe" The idiot ordered another mach punch (yawn). Michael ordered a hidden power again. I jumped, and the hidden power struck the grass nit wit in the face, knocking him out.

"Yep, I kicked ass" I laughed, "Even confused I still kick ass"

"I don't care!" An angry voice cried out. I turned back, to see Titan, seething with rage.

* * *

We made it to the other end of the bridge by sun down. Michael decided it was best if we set up camp and call it a night. Good idea, by that time Louis was almost drunk to the point of passing out.

I decided to use this time to rectify the situation with Titan. He was sitting by a rock, waiting for Michael to release Sharon. I came up beside him.

"Hey" I said. Titan grunted in response. "Look, sorry about earlier"

"You almost hit Dex" He growled, "Do you know what that would have done to him?" I shrugged, even though I knew full well what it would have done.

"Aren't you sorry?"

"That it almost hit Dex? Yes I am. That I fired it? No. I was confused, I was lucky to be standing dude"

"Well I don't give a damn" Titan snarled. "Why don't you take your fake apologies and go somewhere else?" I sighed, and left. As soon as I did, Pecha came over. "You're right, only minutes after you told me, she tried to kill Dex. She claims it was an accident"

"But it's to much of a coincidence?" He nodded.

"What do I need to do to help?"


	77. Civil War I

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXXVII: Civil War I: Streetless Fighting**

The day of the civil war stopped off unmemorable. We had finally begun the three and a half week long journey up Route 119. We had been walking for almost three weeks, only barely stopping in whatever towns we passed through. Christ I wanted to be at the gym, when would this awful journey be over?

_In about five and a half months, every thing will be over._

Their was still that nagging little detail. Oh well, best not to think about that yet. I still hadn't told any one, not even Enfer, about my soon death. I had other things to think about though, mostly the growing tension in our group.

Pecha, Wisp, and Nel, along with new members Titan, and Shu had now visibly separated themselves from the rest of us. I could understand all but Shu, why he was hanging out with those wack-jobs is beyond me.

Enfer, Bane, and I had each tried to talk to the members of that group, only to be rebuffed by them. They were rather obviously pissed about something, but instead of telling us what they had decided to PMS about it. Whatever, fuck them. I was more concerned with someone else.

Rush had been inconsolably depressed for awhile now. Currently he was in Michael's arms, as Michael had been trying to get any kind of reaction out of him. His eyes were glassy and his expression one of depression. Even being held in the arm of Lisa couldn't bring a smile to his face.

"I can't figure out what's wrong Rush, you have to help me" Michael said, as if the stupid little Mudkip would respond. Rush looked up at him, but didn't even make a noise.

"What does he have to be depressed about?" I growled, "Every thing in this group is fine!"

"You don't honestly believe that, do you Angela?" Flash asked. I have to wonder, why did the Ampharos not bother telling me about Pecha? Why did he wait until it was to late?

"Shut up" I growled. Stupid, preachy electric-type. I turned my attention back to the tall grass in front of me. The grass around here was so tall, it went up to my nose. I kept sneezing, and I was beginning to wonder if I might be allergic.

"Michael, how much further?" Louis slurred. Even from here the stench of whisky was over powering. L3 was knuckle dragging beside Louis. She was…calm! It scared me, like she was planning on killing me in my sleep.

"Louis, we went over this yesterday, and the day before, all the way back to Petalburg. We have weeks to go, we have to go through an area where it perpetually rains. We'll be there in a few days, and boy will that be fun"

"Don't like water" Louis mumbled, before taking a drink. How many of those little bottles did he have?

"Angela" Bane said, coming up beside me, "We need to talk" I sighed.

"About?"

"I tried talking to Wisp again" Bane said, "Well she automatically said Come Fly With Me, and while I was stuck in song, she got away. She and the rest of them are mad at us. We need to find out why.

"Have you considered I don't care?" I asked. Bane threw his arms up in frustration. Around this time, the sun began to dip bellow the trees. Michael stopped and decided it was time for us to call it a night.

* * *

"I just wish I knew what's wrong with Rush" Michael mumbled to me. "I mean, when something's wrong with you Angel I can figure it out" Rush was unconscious beside Michael's head. He was trembling, dreaming about something.

I ignored Michael's rants, and decided to try to get to sleep. I could see Sharon on her side, but her eyes were open, reflected in the moon light. Why on earth would she be up? Well, I found out a few moments later, when I felt a tapping on my head.

"Great, what?" I groaned. Looking up, I saw Pecha. "Why the fuck are you bothering me?"

"Come with me cursing Eeveon"

"Bite me" I growled, before closing my eyes. Only minutes later, I felt Pecha smack me upside the head, getting my attention. "Fuck!

"Come with me now" Pecha growled.

"Alright, I'm going" I said, "You dumb shit" I maneuvered off of Michael, careful not to wake him up. Bane and Enfer were also being marched off, by five others. Titan, Wisp, Sharon, Shu, and Nel were all together on this, what ever it was.

Flash watched from the edge of the woods, as we were marched off. Nights were hard for him, sleeping never came. The nightmares came anytime he did manage to sleep. Better to have insomnia then those nightmares.

"What's going on?" Trish exclaimed, confused, as she set down on a tree branch above Flash. The Ampharos sighed, and looked up at Trish. "What is that insane little Chu doing?"

"She's making Angel, Bane, and Enfer leave our group" He replied. "She and Wisp are extremely paranoid, although I don't know why. They're afraid of reborn humans invading the group"

"Why would they be afraid of that?"

"If you want to take over an area, what do you do?" Trish shrugged.

"Launch a full scale invasion" Flash smiled.

"And risk a full scale reprisal" He said, "You need to launch one with out anyone knowing you're launching it"

"…Pecha thinks they're trying to take over the group?"

"Pecha has a military mind, she doesn't know what their plan is, she thinks they have a plan though, and she needs to stop it" Flash said. "The thing is, she isn't acting offensively, she's acting defensively. This is completely unselfish, Pecha is acting selfless. She's just misguided"

"What are you going to do about it?" Trish asked.

"….What do you mean?" Flash asked, completely perplexed.

"How are you going to stop Pecha and them from trying to kick Angel, Bane, and Enfer out? I mean, they don't have a chance in hell, but this could create some horrid emotion in the group. Nothing good will come of this"

"The thing is" Flash laughed nervously, "I'm more of an observer. I don't really take part in these kinds of conflicts"

"Are you kidding?!" Trish cried. She fluttered around in front of Flash. "You must be out of your mind, you have to do something!"

"Why?"

"You are the most intelligent, most level headed member of the group" Trish said, "You need to do something"

"And if I don't?" Trish screamed.

"Then you're a coward Flash. I don't want to be friends with a coward" She sighed. "I'm going to help them, even if you don't" With that, she fluttered off. Flash sighed, wanting to scream himself. His eyes drifted over to a sleeping L3.

"Maybe there is something I can do"

The idiot brigade lead us to a large clearing, with grass all around us. The three of us stood on one side, while the six of them stood on the other.

"What do you morons want?" I said, frowning. "Are you finally willing to tell us about what you've been so pissy about?"

"Yeah, we have" Wisp said.

"And we've decided to tell you, we want you gone" Pecha said. Sharon had passed out beside the insane little Chu, and hadn't noticed a thing.

"What do you mean?" Enfer asked.

"We want you out of the group" Titan snarled. Dex was on the passed-out Sharon. In the moon light, all you could see were the blue stripes on his back. "We know the truth about the three of you"

"Which is?" Bane asked

"That you were human!" Nel suddenly screamed. She had been silent this entire time, but she was not going to be silent anymore. She walked to the front of their group, tears streaming down her muzzle. They glinted silver. "That you guys were our friends, and you lied to us, and you betrayed us! You betrayed me Angel, you honestly hurt me! Do you care that you hurt me you Goddamn bitch? Do you care?!"

"No" I said in an icy voice. A lie, but she didn't know that. Nel started to sob so hard she could no longer talk. It would have usually hurt me to see her like that, but I had other things to worry about.

I noticed Shu on their side, which was something that bothered me. He was also a reborn, so how could he stand with them? For some reason though, I couldn't say a thing, it was as if someone were holding the words in my throat.

"You lied to all of us" Wisp said. "If you had told us, maybe we could have wrapped our minds around this. You didn't though, we had to rely on Pecha to tell us" Rely on Pecha?

"How did you find out that we were human?" I snarled. Pecha laughed like only a dictator can.

"I saw you that afternoon in the woods" Pecha said. "I heard you say you were human, I heard things! I know things! Pecha sees you always!"

"Pecha sees us in our nightmares" Bane said. Me and Enfer laughed at this, we couldn't help it. This whole situation was ridiculous.

"This is not a joke!" Wisp screamed at us. "We want you gone from the group. You're not pokemon, you're not our team mates, and you're not our friends. Looking at you makes me think of your lies and it makes me sick, we want you gone"

"What if we don't leave?" Enfer asked.

"There are six of us" Wisp said, "And three of you. We can hurt you, we could kill you if we wanted to"

"Which I think should be an option" Nel mumbled. They were right about one thing, the six of them combined could take out me and Bane. They forgot one thing though.

"I'm putting an end to this insanity right now" Enfer said, standing up. "There is no way the six of you combined could even touch me, much less harm me. You know this. Look, there are plenty of hours of night left, why don't we go to bed?"

"You're right" Pecha said, smirking. "We couldn't do anything to you physically. We know what hurts you emotionally though" She looked at me. "Tell me, what is your relationship with Angel? Friends, relatives, more then that?"

"Pecha, drop it" Enfer growled.

"Well, with your age difference, I'd guess mother and daughter" Enfer, already furious at Pecha, snapped. She lunged at the Chu, mouth open ready to strike. A rock came out of the air and slammed into Enfer, knocking her straight into the ground. Me and Bane ran over to her.

"Thank you Titan" Pecha said. "We know each one of your weaknesses, and we have no problem exploiting them. Leave us, go wherever you want, it doesn't matter. You just can't be here" I heard fluttering above me.

"So Pecha" A new voice said. "You said you have them outnumbered, six to three?" Trish landed on the ground in front of Enfer. "Well, now they have four, what will you do now?" Enfer looked down at me.

"Who is this?"

"Trish the Skarmory" I said. "She's been following us for a while now, claims watching us is the best entertainment"

"That's what you consider us? Entertainment!" Bane cried. Trish ignored him. Pecha looked the little Skarmory up and down.

"Yes, we can take you on" Pecha said. "The Chu's mighty electrical powers can more then compensate for having to taking down another loser" Pecha then demonstrated by shocking herself.

Dumbass.

"You wont take us down" Flash said. He and L3 emerged from the grass, on our side. Trish's eyes lit up, while Pecha scowled.

"How can you take their side?" Wisp snarled. "Where is your pride in being a natural born pokemon"

"Don't have any pride" Flash said. "Pride makes you stupid" In that case, Pecha must have no brain at all. Of course, the same could be said about me…

"You are a traitor to your kind!" Wisp screamed at L3. L3 was calmer then I had ever seen her. Actually, she was to calm, she seemed down right lazy. Vigoroth only get that way when they're about to evolve.

"I know who my friends are" L3 said, "I know they're not you six" Pecha sighed, and closed her eyes. She began to pace back and forth.

"We seem to be at a crossroads" Pecha said. "We're stuck, neither of us can do a thing. You don't want to leave, we don't want you here"

"We're not leaving"

"So here is what we will do" Pecha continued, not noticing us. "A series of six one-on-one battles"

"What are you talking about?!" Nel asked, but Pecha held up her paw to silence the Skitty.

"If you win four of the six" Pecha said. "We will allow you to stay in the group. You loose though, you leave. I mean all of you, all six of you, not just the reborn anymore. Do we have a deal?" Enfer looked at the five of us.

"It's up to you guys, you know what my answer is" I grinned.

"I say we fight it out"

"We can kick their asses" Bane said.

"Let's knock that arrogant little Chu off her thrown" Trish said.

"Is their any non-violent solution?" Flash asked.

"NO!" We all yelled, before turning back to Pecha. "We'll do it"

"Good" Pecha laughed in her normal way. "Now all we need to do is decide who goes first" Pecha turned to her surprised group, and they began to talk amongst them self.

"Angela" A whispering voice called out. I looked at the other members of my group, but they weren't noticing me. "Angela" The voice was coming from the high grass. I walked over to it, only to be sucked into the grass by a supernatural force.

* * *

I was floating. Floating in the endless void of eternity. Not Meowth floated in front of me. A smile was on his muzzle.

"Sorry about that" He said. "Needed to get you out of there"

"Why not just freeze time and teleport me like normal?" I asked.

"This way seemed more fun" Asshole. I sighed.

"What do you want?" I asked. Not Meowth floated over beside me.

"I needed you away from them, don't worry, they won't notice you missing, take a look" Suddenly, I could see my friends, and my body. More specifically my unconscious body behind Enfer. Two pokemon, one from each side, moved to the center of the group.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Why, the first match is beginning"


	78. Civil War II

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XXLVIII: Civil War II**

Eternity is a strange place to be. It is a place between the realm of the living, and the destination of the dead. It is one of three parts of the world where the Not-Pokemon live. It was where I currently was, being forced to watch my friends and team mates battle one another.

Nel and Flash were up first. Flash looked upset by this turn of events, while Nel looked determined. In fact, I had never seen her look like she did, she looked angry. Sadly, when a Skitty tries to be angry, they come off as really cute.

"We don't have to fight" Flash said. He looked at the Stupid Six. "None of us have to fight. We can just talk this out, let's use common sense" Nel ran foreword and headbutted Flash.

"The time for talk is over" Nel growled. "I'm sick of talking, and I'm sick of being lied to by all of you! I hate you!" She jumped at Flash, trying to tackle him. Flash grabbed her in mid-air.

Nel's tail glowed bright white, and she slammed into Flash's wrist, causing him to drop the squirming Skitty. Flash sighed, and fired a weak thunder-shock, which Nel easily avoided.

"Why send Nel out against Flash?" I asked, "Why not send Sharon out? She would be immune to any attack he could dish out" Not Meowth laughed at this.

"You have to give Pecha one thing" He said, "She's very intelligent. Sharon is to weak to battle, the stress of it would about kill her. Even against Flash it would be bad for her. Most people would view Sharon as a liability. Pecha though has a strategic mind, she views Sharon as her trump card. It's actually fascinating how"

"I don't' view it as fascinating!" I snarled, "The little dictator needs her head kicked in!" Not Meowth sighed. "What?"

"Nothing, just watch the match"

Nel launched herself at Flash, using double edge. She hit him in the stomach, and ended up knocking Flash flat on his ass. I noticed for the first time that Flash was actually one of the weak links on our team. I guess I had never noticed before.

Flash continued to fire weak thunder shocks, which Nel almost seemed to enjoy avoiding. Suddenly, Nel started to sing.

"Oh crap" I said. Sure enough, Flash collapsed on the ground. Nel then used a double-slap on him, beating him senseless.

"I don't get it" I said, "Why doesn't he just zap the fuck out of her, and be done with it?"

"You don't understand do you?" Not Meowth asked. "Flash still hopes that this can all be resolved with talk, and not with fighting. Flash believes in peace above all else. He knows that if you guys do win through fighting, the tension will still exist. In fact, it'll get worse"

"Fine" I said, "Don't kill them later, but go for blood now!"

"You know" He replied, "I would have thought hearing Virgil's story would have changed your mind about going for blood"

"Why? He didn't even learn that wasn't a good idea"

"He should learn this time" Not Meowth said, "He was recently reborn in a human body" My jaw dropped.

"He was?! Where? How? Tell me more?" Not Meowth ignored me though, and was instead focusing on the battle. "Asshole"

Suddenly, Nel's paw began to glow, and she hit Flash with a powerful wake-up slap. Flash groggily pulled himself up, as Nel prepared for a hyper beam.

"The match is over, isn't it?" I asked.

"Yes, but not in the way you think" Flash grabbed Nel, and thrust her up as she fired. Her hyper beam shot off into outer space, and quickly faded into nothing. Flash looked visibly upset, for some reason.

"Nel I tried to reason with you" He said in a controlled voice. The Skitty squirmed to get out of his grip. I'm terribly sorry about this" Flash started to pulsate a bright yellow. Sparks shot out of his fur, as he unleashed all of his electricity into Nel.

The Skitty, who had before been squirming, now shrieked in pain. All of her fur stuck straight up, and was sparking. Even her tail was straight up in the air. Nel's eyes were bulging out of their sockets, and her mouth was frozen in pain. Finally, Flash stopped and let the Skitty pass out in his arms.

"I'm so sorry" Flash whispered before kissing the passed out Skitty on the forehead. He walked over to Pecha's side, and sat Nel on the ground, before returning to our side.

"Alright, one dumbass down" I said, "Five to go"

"You just don't get it" Not Meowth said. "Flash did not want to hurt Nel. He gave her every chance to stop. Only when she refused did he attack. Even then he did not enjoy it"

"It doesn't matter if he enjoyed it" I said, "They started this. They could have chosen not to, but they didn't"

"You know" Not Meowth said, "It's time for me to show you what I brought you here to see in the first place" Suddenly, I was floating somewhere new. What I saw I didn't understand.

I saw the earth, and thousands more like it. I saw trillions and trillions of earth's, just floating in front of me. They were spinning slowly.

"This is infinity" Not Meowth said. "Think of it as sort of like a cross between a hall of records and a crossroads. This is where every decision ever made is recorded, and every dimensional nexus is located""

What is with all of the Earth's?"

"Reality is a curious thing" He said, "Every time a major, world changing decision is made, reality splits"

"What decision was made in that Earth?" I asked, pointing at a brown and orange Earth. Their were no clouds, and no plants. The water looked brown and murky, while all of the ground had craters in it.

"That is a world where it was decided waking up Rayquaza was just to dangerous" Not Meowth said. "That Earth will soon pass away. For now though, let's go over to your Earth" We floated over one Earth that looked the same as all of the others. Suddenly, we were sucked into it.

Instead of ending up on Earth, we were in front of what looked like a tree made up of silver lines. "This is every decision made on your world, ever since it was created. Touch a line"

"Which one?

"Any one will do" Sighing, I reached and touched one.

I could see in my head, a kid with a stupid hat that made it look like he had white hair. I knew who that was, it was Ruby! The Hoenn coordinator champion.

I could hear him thinking about if he was going to tell his girlfriend Sapphire the truth about himself, but he knew he couldn't. If he was going to tell her he was…gay!? I pulled back, pulling myself out of the vision, and back to Not Meowth.

"What did you see?" He asked. I laughed.

"I knew it! I always fucking new it!" I exclaimed.

"Angela!" Not Meowth exclaimed.

"What?" I asked.

"Take a look beside that one thread" The thread had a second one splitting out of it. The other thread wasn't as vibrantly silver as the first one. "That is the other choice Ruby could have made" How did he know that it was Ruby I saw? "If he had told Sapphire he was gay. It's the other choice he could have, but didn't make"

"Is there any point to this?" I asked.

"I'm getting to it" Not Meowth said, "I want to direct your attention to one final thread" Not Meowth gestured, and I touched it.

This time I could see Pecha, deciding if she was going to tell Wisp about me and Bane being human. I felt the fear in the little Chu's heart, as her mind flew through what me and Bane as humans meant. The vision ended as Pecha decided to tale Wisp.

"Great, you showed me Pecha's betrayal" I said, "So the forces of the super natural have nothing better to do then to mess with me?"

"Angela, take a close look at that thread" I looked, only to see nothing branch off from it. "What do you see?"

"Where is the place where I can see the other choice Pecha could have made?" I asked.

"Their isn't one" Not Meowth said.

"Of course there is, their has to be" I said, "She could have chose not to tell Wisp! Wisp could have chose not to stand with Pecha and try to have us kicked out of the group"

"No Angela, they couldn't" Not Meowth said. "Sometimes the deck is stacked against them. Sometimes, people and pokemon have the deck stacked against them. Sometimes they're manipulated by super natural forces" It hit me right then.

"Not Milotic?" He nodded. "You did all of this, just so I could figure out that Not Milotic was responsible? Why?"

"There are rules Angela" Not Meowth said, "Limits to my power. One of the rules is, no direct interference, I can not tell you when Not Milotic does something like this. You have to figure it out on your own. I can help you figure it out though"

"Why did Not Milotic pick Pecha and Wisp though?"

"Who better to pick?" Not Meowth asked. "Pecha is already paranoid, ever since the first Chu she ever loved evolved into a Raichu and left her alone. Wisp saw her family killed in front of her, that's something she's never dealt with. Not Milotic knew they could manipulate Nel, Titan, and Shu. Nel because of her own fear, Titan by his insecurities, and Shu because of his amnesia"

"Why does Shu side with them?" I asked.

"Shu and Wisp were once friends" He said, "Shu doesn't remember it though. All he knows is a pleasant feeling whenever he's around Wisp"

"A…pleasant feeling?"

"NOT THAT WAY!" Not Meowth exclaimed. "He feels comfortable around Wisp, in a way he doesn't feel around anyone. Wisp trusts him, and she'll continue trusting him. Hence why I kept your group from telling her Shu was reborn"

"That was you?" I cried, "You're the reason my throat closed up?"

"You'll see why Angela" Not Meowth, "You'll see very soon. The next match is starting, and it's time for you to depart me" Not Meowth then slapped me silly, and I woke up behind Enfer.

"Wah!" I cried jumping up. Every one in my group looked at me. "Sorry about that…had a nightmare. What did I miss?"

"I feel sick" Flash muttered.

"Wuss" I mumbled. I turn to see L3 and Shu going out to face on another. L3 was calm, and rather obviously about to evolve. Shu was anxious, like he couldn't wait to be doing any thing else.

Shu made the first move. He lunged at L3 in a bite attack, only L3 launch her body and slam him in the face.

Shu pulled back and jumped, using take down. L3 ducked low, and slashed him across the chest. Shu screeched in pain, and fell onto his side.

He stood up, and kicked a stream of sand in L3's eyes with sand attack. While L3 tried desperately to clean out her eyes, Shu opened his mouth and fired a ring of dark energy, a dark pulse.

L3 was launched straight into the air, dark energy flowing over her entire body. She collapsed to the ground, hard. Shu stood above her, ready to bite her, when I noticed L3's fist glowing.

L3 fired off her focus punch, hitting Shu in the left eye and knocking him flat on his ass. She jumped at Shu, using furry swipes, only to have Shu role out of the way. L3 was rewarded by scratching the fuck out of the ground.

Shu charged up a shadow ball, and fired at L3. It hit her in the side, but L3 didn't hit the ground. L3 lunged and grabbed Shu by the forelegs. She then headbutted him hard enough to draw blood. Shu and L3 both jumped back, blood flowing from his muzzle and her forehead. They looked at each other.

Shu used double team, about ten of him appearing in a circle around L3. L3 closed her eyes, and began her body began pulsing. She was using focus energy, biding her time till Shu attacked.

L3 didn't have to wait long. Shu rushed at her, energy pulsating around him, trying to use giga impact. L3 bent back, and Shu sailed over her, hitting the ground so hard to cause a crater.

"Night night" L3's claws glowed bright white, and she used crush claw, driving them into Shu's back. Shu barked once, and passed out. L3 threw her arms up in victory.

She then began to glow white. We grinned.

L3 tripled in size and muscle mass, growing larger then a person. Her chest was as wide as an engine block. Her fists were the size of hams, and her head was the size of a watermelon. As the glowing faded, the new Slaking L3 stood before us. She looked down at Shu lazily.

"L3…you evolved!" L3 shrugged.

"Kay" She growled. She then dragged her now fat ass back over to us. Shu managed to pull himself to the other side, and collapse again.

"Send out your next pokemon" Pecha exclaimed. We all came together as a group.

"They've lost twice" I said, "They need a win, or else. We need to send out a definite winner, Enfer you're up"

"Why me?" Enfer asked.

"You can take Wisp or Titan" I said.

"Do you guys all think this?" They all nodded, except Flash. He just stood there, pretending he was anywhere else. Enfer sighed, and finally gave in. She padded out onto the field, to face her opponent. "Wait, is this really who I'm battling?!"

"Hi Enfer!" Sharon chirped happily, "Let's play!" Sharon's wings fluttered weakly. Enfer's jaw dropped.

"I'm not going to fight Sharon!" Enfer exclaimed.

"Why not?" We called out.

"Because I could kill her" Enfer said, "A paper cut will kill her because of those blood thinners"

"Come on, I'm bored" Sharon whined.

"If you don't battle, you forfeit" Pecha said. Pecha, who had known that we would use Enfer to try to guarantee a win. Pecha, who knew Enfer would never fight Sharon.

"Then I forfeit" Enfer growled, "You win"


	79. Civil War III

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XXLIX: Civil War III: Final Fight**

Rush stared at the sky, bathed in the twinkling light of the stars. It was an unusually cool night, and a gentle breeze was blowing over him. They had all left by now, and left him alone. What could he do though to stop this? Was their anything he could do?

"What are you looking at?" A new voice said starting Rush. He looked back, to see Streak staring up like he had been. "I like the stars. They're pretty" Streak then giggled.

"Hi" Rush said, in a depressed voice. The Stunky walked over beside him, and Rush noticed he didn't reek.

"You're depressed" Streak said, "Why is that?"

"I'm scared" Rush said, turning away from Streak. He didn't know why he had chosen to respond to the Stunky, he just did it.

"Why are you scared dude? No reason to be scared, being scared is pointless" Streak said, in a tone that implied Rush was an idiot.

"I'm scared for my friends" Rush said, "if you didn't notice, no one is left here except you, me, and the humans" Streak looked around quickly, for any other pokemon. Upon seeing none, he grinned stupidly.

"You know, that's the kind of thing I should notice" Streak said. "Where did they go?"

"No idea" Rush said, "Tell me, if someone you care about does something wrong, what should you do?"

"You're asking my opinion? Awesome!" Streak said. "Whose doing what wrong? Spill it Kip"

"Not spilling" Rush said, "Because it's a hypothetical question! You don't even know if anything is going on!" Yes, because the twelve missing pokemon weren't a dead give away.

"So who are you in love with?" Streak said, "and what is the awful thing they're doing?" Rush just stared at him, utterly confused. "What?"

"Do you use your mind reading powers for good or evil?" Streak shrugged. "I might still be in love with someone, who hurt me. I might also be in love with someone who wants to hurt my friends, and I might have feeling for someone whose leading her. The problem is, the last two are doing something really stupid right now. What should I do?"

"Dude, it's so obvious" Streak said. "If you care about someone, but they're doing something wrong, you need to stop them. You owe it to them dude"

"What if they hate me?" Rush asked.

"If they honestly care about you, they wont get mad. You have to figure out your own feelings dude" Streak said. "If these people you claim to care about are going to do something wrong, stop them and help your friends, do it now dude. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about" Streak paused for a moment. "Hey, did you know I can turn my eyes all the way back? Isn't that awesome?"

"You almost had me for a second there" Rush said, standing up. "You're right though, I have to do some" He noticed that Streak had rolled his eyes all the way into his skull. "Something. I'll be back soon" With that, Rush took off.

"What did ya say dude?" Streak asked, unrolling his eyes.

* * *

Enfer returned to our side, her head rightfully hung in shame. I wanted to inflict serious harm onto her stupid fucking head, my mother or not.

"How could you do that?" I snarled, as Enfer passed by, "We almost had them!"

"I couldn't harm Sharon" Enfer stated. "Even if she wasn't on all that medicine, I can't hurt someone innocent" Yeah, innocent. None of them were innocent.

"I wanted to have fun" Sharon whined, as she fluttered back to the other side. She curled up into a ball, and fell asleep again. Lucky dumbass.

"Send out your next warrior!" Pecha called out, thrusting her arms up in the air. "We shall take them all on"

"Pecha, how did you train to be a lame James Bond villain?" I asked. "Was it something you worked at, something you were just born with, what?" Pecha stuck out her tongue, and I turned back to our group.

"I want to go next" Trish said, "I can take all but shell head. I don't think they'll send him out next"

"Why do you think that?"

"Gut instinct" So our strategy had come down to relying on the gut instinct of a midget metal bird. Could you smell victory? "So, we're going to let me battle"

"I say do it" I said, "Any one disagree?" Enfer looked sad, Flash looked sick, and L3 looked like she was having an out of body experience. Only Bane agreed to send Trish out. She fluttered out to the center to face her opponent. Her opponent who was…Pecha!?

Pecha may have been an electric type, but she couldn't use any attacks. Her thunder shocks only ended up shocking herself. When she used quick-attack, she tripped on her evil ass. She couldn't even tackle, what the hell would she do.

For some reason, Pecha held up both paws.

"Ten seconds" Pecha said, "Ten seconds and then I win. I want all of you to know that right now" Alright fine. I started counting the seconds in my head.

_Ten…nine…eight…_

Trish spread her wings and shot straight up. Pecha sat and watched.

_Seven…six…five…_

Trish pulled back, and began to dive bomb at Pecha, her talons open. Pecha used thundershock, electrifying herself.

_Four…three…two…_

Trish made content, and every thing went straight to hell. Pecha was electrified, and Trish was a metal bird. She might as well have tried to latch onto a live wire. Trish didn't even get the chance to pick Pecha up, she lit up like a Christmas tree. Pecha was slightly zapped, but Trish was fried.

_One…_

Trish collapsed in front of Pecha, electrocuted. Pecha thrust her arms up in victory.

"The Chu wins, the Chu wins!" Pecha said, jumping up and down, dancing. Pecha danced over back to her side, where she was met with cheers and applause. Not only that, but we were now tied.

Flash ran back over and picked the collapsed Trish in his arms. She was completely limp, and her metal looked tarnished. My jaw had dropped, how in the fuck hell had Pecha done it?

"It's just you and me now dude" I said to Bane, "And you need to go next"

"Why?"

"They sent out their next battler" I said, "Take a look" Tin for brains Titan was out on the field. Dex was asleep on his mother. Bane grinned.

"Yeah, I can do that" Bane walked out onto the field. His heart was racing so fast, I thought it would burst through his chest. "I can do this"

Titan began almost lazily, with a weak rock throw. Bane smashed through each one of them easily with his fist paw. Bane then charged at Titan, and hit him between the eyes, knocking him on his ass.

Titan looked cross eyed, as he pulled his four hundred pound bulk back up. He then attempted a metal claw, only to have Bane grab and crush his paw. Bane looked Titan in the eyes, as he lifted his fist.

"Any last words?" Titan grinned.

"Dancing Queen" Bane froze as soon as Titan spoke those words. He started to sing, and Titan backed up. He then rushed and jumped at Titan, slashing him across the chest.

"How did he do that?" L3 growled. I knew how, and Flash knew.

Michael had bought a bunch of TMs while we were in Mauville. One of them had been Ariel Ace, which Titan could learn. Michael knew it would give him a decent attack against fighting-types, the chance to cut them up.

Bane was hurt, badly. Even without Titan being flying-type, the attack would be bad for Bane. Seeing as Titan was of a much higher level, the attack was devastating. Bane though, trapped by his natural psychosis, continued singing.

Titan slashed Bane again, and the Riolu collapsed to his knees. He was still singing though. Titan knocked Bane on his head, and stomped on his skull. All we could do was watch, horrified.

Bane may have been a fighting-type, but that would hurt anyways. Bane's eyes closed, as blood began to pour out of a cut on his head.

"Stop it Titan!" I screamed. He looked up at me, his leg poised above Bane's head. For a second common sense shined through, and Titan put his leg back down. Bane managed to pull himself up, and stumble back over to our side. He collapsed unconscious, and now they had taken the lead.

"You fuckers" I mumbled under my breath, staring at them. They didn't seem to care at all. Wisp walked into the center, my reflection in her green eyes. Oh boy I knew that look. It was time for her and me to battle.

I made my way to the center, my legs trembling. I was fighting so we could tie. Wisp grinned, and opened her mouth, releasing a flamethrower. I dogged to the side, and summoned a shadow ball.

_Some times the deck is stacked against us._

I fired the shadow ball off to the side, missing Wisp. Wisp ran at me, and hit me in the head while using tackle. I summoned the energy balls of secret power.

_Some times we're manipulated Angela, and there is nothing we can do about it._

Not Meowths damn words again, what's going on? I ended up not shooting hidden power, and had to avoid Wisp using bite. I avoided it, only to have Wisp hit me in the face with a sand attack.

As I shook the sand out of my face, Wisp jumped and clamped down hard on my side. Fuck! I screamed bloody murder, and shook the Vulpix like crazy, but she wouldn't let go.

"Let go of me you damn bitch"

"Make me" The muffled voice of Wisp replied. I shook her off at last, blood pouring out of the cuts in my side.

Wisp landed on her feet, and fired a flamethrower, this one hitting me dead on. I flipped on my ass, and Wisp jumped on me.

_Not Milotic has been manipulating them._

"What do you know" I mumbled, "Not Meowth actually got through to me, and it doesn't even matter"

"Good-night human" Wisp snarled, preparing to bite my throat out. Suddenly, water washed over Wisp, and knocked her on her side.

"What the?" I pulled my self up, to see Rush, panting from exaughstion. He had stopped Wisp, but he didn't look happy.

"Rush, what are you doing"

"Ending this" Rush said, "All of this. No more fighting. I'm sick to death of it, of you guys fighting each other for no reason"

"They invaded our group!"

"They didn't invade anything" Rush said, "They were given the gift of life! A second time! They're the luckiest creatures alive"

"I suppose we're just suppose to let them come back in the group?" Wisp cried.

"Yep"

"I can't do that" Wisp said, "There is no way I can do that"

"I'll do it" Pecha said. We all turned and looked at the little Chu. "On one condition" I decided to ask.

"Which is?"

"Rush gives me a kiss" Rush grinned.

"Sure Pecha, I'd love to" Pecha's heart started to race a mile a minute, as Rush came up and kissed her on the cheek. Pecha started to glow bright white.

Pichu evolve through happiness. Let's face it, being kissed by Rush sent Pecha over the moon. When the glowing faded, a freshly evolved Pikachu sat in front of us. So what? Pikachu suck only slightly less then Pichu.

"Pecha may fold" Titan said, "But I'm not going to do it. Not after Angela tried to hurt Dex"

"I didn't try to!" I cried.

"Wha? Whose trying to hurt Dex?" Sharon mumbled, sticking her head up.

"Angela tried to kill Dex" Titan said, "So we're battling to kick her and all of the others reborns out of the group"

"…That's why we were battling, to kick the reborns out"

"Of course!" Sharon slammed her fist into the side of Titan's head, so hard it dented his tin skull. "Owe! What was that for?"

"For being a moron" Sharon said. "I don't want Angela kicked out, and neither do you, she's our friend"

"She tried to hurt Dex"

"She's not smart enough to do that"

"Hey!" I protested.

"You're being paranoid!" Sharon said, "You need to stop"

"But Dex"

"Is fine" Sharon said. "Where's the Titan I care about, the pervert who wanted to take me behind the rocks?" Titan was left dumb struck at this comment. He stood up, and looked at Dex.

"You know" He said, "One day I'm going to teach him why blow jobs are the greatest thing in the world"

"Yay, the real Titan is back!" Sharon said.

"Why did we want him again?" I mumbled.

"Well I'm not going to let them back" Wisp said, "Even if you three are flip-floppers"

"You tell them" Shu said. Nel nodded in agreement with this.

"Shu, how about we tell her?" Enfer said.

"What?"

"That you're also a reborn"

"No I'm not!" Shu protested, like it was the most crazy thing in the world.

"Yes you are" I said.

"No I'm not"

"Yes you are" Bane said.

"No I'm not!" He screamed.

"Yes you are" The three of us replied in unison as loud as we could. Because if you say it loud enough, it becomes true.

"Are you Shu?" Wisp asked. "You can tell me, I wont get mad"

"You found out we were reborn and you wanted to kill!" Bane screamed.

"Yeah I am" Shu said. "But I don't like to talk about it. I'm sorry, but my life as a human was hard…My death was harder. I would have told you, but I just wasn't comfortable"

"Is that true of all of you?" Wisp asked. "Why didn't you say so?" I could almost see the paranoia washing out of her. Not Milotic's grip was gone. Only one was still mad.

Nel sat behind all of them, hyper ventilating. Her anger was palpable, but none of us noticed. By now we were mingling with the others, who had plenty of questions to ask us. Nel though was having none of it.

"They think they can trick me" Nel mumbled, "I wont let it happen, we will rise again! Yeah, we'll rise and destroy them"

"Hey" Flash said, coming over beside the Skitty. Nel barely acknowledged him. "You're still angry?"

"They still lied to me" Nel said, "They betrayed me, and I can never forgive them" Flash sighed. He picked Nel up, and put her on his lap, even though she tried to squirm away.

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you" Flash said. "I didn't want to hurt you before, just enough electricity to stun you. You are okay right?" Nel ignored him. "Sorry again. I just needed you to stop, and now I just want to talk"

"Talk" Nel growled.

"You can't be scared of Angel, Bane and Enfer. Angel is your friend, Enfer you can always trust, and Bane is a living juke box"

"A what?"

"…Never mind. The point is, you can't live your life dominated by fear"

"Why not?"

"Because then you're not living" he replied. "You need to not be afraid of Angel, she's still your friend. She'll forgive you, and you need to not be afraid of her. Can you do that?" Nel sighed.

"I can't make any promises" She said, "But I'll try" Flash smiled.

"Good, now let's go rejoin the group. It looks like they're getting ready to leave"

* * *

Not Milotic watched the group return to Michael, Louis, and Lisa. The sun was going up, and the group was bathed in early morning light. Not Meowth appeared beside her, causing her to laugh slowly.

"You stupid son of a bitch" Not Milotic said, "You did it. I don't know how you did it, but you did it"

"I'm good" He said. "I knew Shu would be able to get through to Wisp, even though he sided with her the rest of the group would forgive him. I knew Streak would get through to Rush. I knew Angela would be unable to attack. Every single move you made, I planned out a counter. It worked perfectly, don't you think?"

"That it did" Not Milotic said. Unable to help it, she grinned. "Christ, I can't tell you how much I hate you right now. You undid all I worked for, you fuckball"

"I know I did" Not Meowth said, "What amazed me was just how easy it was to undo it" He looked over at the entity of evil. "I'm going to be watching you a lot more closely now, and I want you to stop"

"Stop?"

"You're to leave Michael and his group alone from now on" Not Meowth said, "I don't want you messing with them any more for your own amusement"

"And if I don't stop?"

"My power is just as great, if not greater then yours. Stop it now" Not Meowth turned to leave. "Why don't you do us all a favor and go jump in a lake?" With that, Now Meowth departed, leaving a steaming Not Milotic.


	80. The Origin of Evil

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXXX: The Origin of Evil**

"So that was when my plan fell to pieces" Not Milotic said to Tagger, "All because of that cursed feline" Tagger almost didn't seem to be listening. Not Milotic had once scanned his mind, to see what he was thinking. Not a damn thing, no thoughts, no emotions, a completely blank slate.

It had scared her.

"You failed" Tagger said simply.

"So what, you failed the first time!"

"I never fail" Tagger said. "Don't you fucking forget that, I never fail. You have failed me twice though, and thus, our partnership needs to come to an end"

"…You don't mean that"

"I mean what I say, and I no longer wish to associate with you. Go away, if I need you again, I will summon you" Not Milotic looked him straight in the eye, and vanished without a word.

Tagger leaned against a tree. The night had been cool, but the sun was coming up. Tagger hadn't slept yet, all he had done was wait for that cursed sea serpent. Now she had departed, and Tagger was alone. He closed his eyes, and was quickly asleep. As he slept, he dreamt.

About his life nineteen years prior.

About the day he had met Anna.

* * *

Slateport was a cesspool. A city where the drunks, and the drug addicts, and the whores came together to fornicate. A place that reminded Tagger of his superiority over the lesser-men.

They were his puppets to manipulate, and his insects to squish when it suited him. The highest politicians in the city mattered no more to him then the lowest drunk. They lived because he allowed them to live, their illusions of free-will were just that, illusions.

The market place of Slateport was the most disgusting place in the city, yet it attracted the lesser-men like moths to a flame. Even Tagger was brought here, intrigued by the market. Watching the humans flush away their money away on worthless garbage. He could have fun here.

Tagger sat down on a bench and pulled out his copy of Human, All Too Human. It was badly worn, and Tagger had memorized its words. It still amazed him though every time he read it, the words of one of the earliest super-men.

When Tagger read, he was isolated from the rest of the world, the grunts and farts of the lesser-men. It took something special to get his attention. Today, one of those special things was walking by.

A woman, whistling Misty, one of the few songs Tagger enjoyed. She stood out among the crowd of loose dressed sluts. She was wearing a floral print dress, white gloves, a pearl necklace, and pearl ear rings. Her hair was nicely stilled, and she was wearing full make-up. She was carrying a bag, full of items from the market, and had a purse on her shoulder. Her heels clacked on the stone sidewalk.

"She will be mine" Tagger said, standing up. He left the book on the bench, it was of no consequence. He walked through the crowd, looking for the woman. Tagger found her, at a table full of little knick-knacks. She was haggling over a small statue of a Growlithe.

"Please, this is all I have" The woman said.

"No money, no statue" The merchant said. Tagger stepped up to the table, wallet in had.

"Give her what she wants" Tagger said to the merchant, who nodded quickly. She handed over the Growlithe statue to the woman, who smiled brightly.

"T-thank you" The woman stammered, tearing up. "Thank you for your kindness Mr.?"

"Tagger" He said, "Jerome Tagger" Tagger was able to fake a smile, although why such a worthless facial feature mattered to people was beyond him.

"Anna Kendle" She said. "Thank you again mister, is their anything I can do to repay you?"

"You can eat lunch with me" Tagger said.

"I don't know"

"One lunch" Tagger said, his gray eyes filled with faux sympathy. "I know you're hungry, I can hear your stomach grumbling" Anna smiled.

"Yes, one lunch will be fine"

* * *

They ate at a restaurant on the beach, that served some kind of unidentifiable fish slop. Tagger picked at it, he didn't need to eat it. He was a super-man, he was beyond hunger.

The woman, Anna, was blathering about her life, Tagger barely acknowledged it. He wondered what her body looked like under that dress, if it was the body of a woman to whom he would give his seed. The woman who would bring his child into existence.

"I-I mean, I love Marcus, he's the greatest h-h-husband a woman could ask for. I mean, ye-yes he asks me to dress this way. I g-guess he does g-g-give me a few l-light slams ev-every now and then, but o-only because I'm disob-bedient sometimes"

_If he's so great, why are you having lunch with me? _Tagger thought, picking at the goo. His fork ended up stuck in the substance, and even with his impressive strength, he couldn't pull it out.

"You don't deserve a man like that Anna" Tagger said to her. He used her name to disarm her, to surprise her.

"I love Marc-cus" Anna stammered. "I love him, he de-deserves me" The more she talked about her husband, the worse her stammer got. Much more of this and all she would be was a babbling dolt.

"No he doesn't" Tagger said. He gently touched her hand, and although Anna trembled, she didn't pull away. "You're a kind, intelligent, beautiful woman Anna. You deserve so much more"

"Y-you don't know m-m-me" Anna stammered, her heart banging against her chest wall. She wanted to break free of her prison with her husband, even if only for one night. Tagger knew it, he could sense it.

He could manipulate it.

"I know you Anna" Tagger said, "I've known women like you my entire life. Women who deserve better then the life they've been given, women who desperately need help. I want to help you Anna, let me help you" Anna gulped

"I…uh….I"

Tagger had managed to manipulate Anna into his arms, and into his bed. They had made passionate love twice, once gently, and once hard enough to rock the walls. After Tagger had released his seed, he had known she was pregnant.

He always knew. Anna would bare his child, he had made a good choice in her.

* * *

Tagger had taken him back to his house, although his house was a loose term. The house, much like his Arcanine, belonged to the government, for services rendered. Right now he stood on his deck, watching the sun rise. He could hear Anna walking through his house, and heard her pull open the sliding glass door.

Anna was wearing Tagger's bathrobe. Her hair was thrown every which way, and her make up and jewelry was gone. Her body though was perfect, why Tagger had ultimately decided to use her as the mother of his child.

"I saw you had four pokeballs on your dresser" Anna said, as she walked out. "You didn't tell me you had pokemon"

"It's not important" Tagger said.

"I love pokemon" Anna said, smiling as she walked over beside him. "My favorite are Growlithe" She said it as if she thought Tagger would care. In all honesty, he was beginning to find it difficult filtering her voice out.

"I have an Arcanine" Tagger said.

"Really?! What's it's name"

"Doesn't have a name" Tagger said, "Doesn't need one. Give a pokemon a name, they'll start to think they're equal to you. They're not to think at all, they need to be broken and dominated. Names are pointless" Anna frowned at this comment. Unconsciously, she started to shiver, even though she wasn't cold.

"I noticed one of those pokeballs had the Hoenn national crest on it"

"So?"

"Those pokeballs are only given to people who work for the government. You're not even allowed to get the crest engraved in there"

"So I suppose the only way would be if I worked for the government" Tagger said. If he worked for them, doing the tasks that they would not want the public to know about. A murder here, an assassination there. All private.

"You work for the government?" Anna asked, her eyes lighting up, "Really? What do you do? Is the work exciting?" Tagger noted her stutter had vanished since last night. According to Anna, her husband was away on some kind of trip. Tagger wished he hadn't been.

"It's okay"

Tagger had taken what was his, and defiled it. He had taken this mans obedient wife, and turned her into a whore. Tagger wanted the man to be here, just so Tagger could assert his superiority over him.

"I have to leave" Anna said, "W-when will I see you again?" The stutter was back.

"Not soon" Tagger said, "I'm being transferred to the Sinnoh office for sometime. I don't know how long"

"Y-you're being transferred? How do you know that, their were no phone calls last night. Unless, you already knew when you seduced me? You used me, knowing you wouldn't have to see me again?" Tagger stared at her womb.

"I wont be gone that long. A couple of months tops"

* * *

That had been a lie though. A couple of moths became two and a half years. Two and a half years in which Tagger had thought of Anna, and his child. Sinnoh was a cold and bitter place, although the work kept Tagger busy. It was the kind of work Tagger enjoyed, the kind of work he specialized in.

No one would guess a man less then six feet tall, and less then one hundred and eighty pounds could be so dangerous.

Now Tagger had returned to Hoenn, and to his old house. The house was dark and empty, almost no change from when Tagger had lived in it. He never cluttered the home with worthless trinkets, or pictures with fake sentimentality.

Today was the day Tagger would hunt down Anna. It was an almost unbearably hot day. The sun beat down upon him, but he didn't notice. Tagger sat in the Hoenn market place, waiting for Anna to come along.

In the last two and a half years, Anna could have moved. She and her husband could have divorced, but Tagger dismissed this. He viewed her as property, why throw good property away?

They could have left Slateport, but Tagger dismissed this also. Anna had struck him as a woman who thrived on routine, she would never deviate by moving. She found security in the same old routine, even if it was horrifying.

"Speak of the devil" Tagger mumbled.

Anna walked through the market place, wearing a sun dress. She looked almost exactly the same as he had two and a half years ago. Their were a few subtle differences, diamond ear rings instead of pearls, a darker shade of lipstick. The dress was simple, no flowers on it. One thing unnerved Tagger.

She wasn't pushing a stroller. She didn't have a small child with her. She didn't even look like she had experienced many sleepless nights.

Something was wrong, and Tagger needed to find out what. He followed behind Anna, just far enough so that if she turned around, she wouldn't see him. Tagger thrived on secrecy, and the lack of paranoia of the lesser-man.

"When I find my child" Tagger mumbled, "I'll install that phobia into him" Tagger followed Anna into the market place parking lot, to a small car. He got behind her as she opened the trunk to her car. "Greetings Anna"

"What?" She turned around, and her eyes went wide. "Jerry?" Tagger pushed her into the trunk, and slammed the lid shut. He pulled out the keys, and got in the drivers seat.

* * *

Tagger drove back to his house, a place where he and Anna could talk with out any disturbance. Anna had pounded on the trunk lid the entire time, but nobody other then Tagger had noticed. Finally, he stopped the car, got out, and opened the trunk.

Anna jumped up, flailing her arms wildly. She scratched Tagger across his right cheek, but he didn't notice. Tagger grabbed Anna by the wrists, and pulled her out of the car. She was shrieking, so Tagger slapped her to get her attention.

"Shut up" Tagger snarled. "In case you haven't noticed, we're alone. Isolated from the rest of the world. You can scream your stupid head off, but it wont matter. If you annoy me, I will kill you, without a second thought. Do you understand?" Anna nodded. "Good, tell me about my child"

"…Excuse me?"

"The child I fathered" Tagger said, "The child I created after our night of love making. Where is it?"

"H-how did you know?" Anna screamed, "How did you know I got pregnant, how?"

"Tell me damn it" Tagger snarled, shaking Anna. "The child, what happened to it? Did you give birth?" Anna began to cry.

"Yeah I did" Anna said, "To a beautiful, stillborn girl". Tagger let go of her shoulders and took a step back. "Jerry, I'm so sorry, but you must understand how much it hurt me" Tagger slapped Anna so hard, it knocked her into the ground. When she hit the earth, her nose started bleeding.

"You goddamn weak whore" Tagger screamed, kicking her in the chest. "You fucking, weak whore" Tagger grabbed her by the back of the neck, and pulled her up. "Keep your mouth shut"

He then did things to her, awful things. By the time she was done, Anna was left on her knees. Her dress shredded, her makeup smeared, Anna was at an all time low.

"You're pregnant again" Tagger said. "Don't ask me how I know, it isn't important. You will bear my child this time, do you hear me? If you don't, I will kill you. I wont even think twice about it"

* * *

Tagger was jerked out of his dream, by the chirping of a Swellow. Yeah, he remembered all, he remembered what happened in those nine months. The things he did to Anna, the fate of Chris.

The night on the bridge. The thought of that night still brought smiles to Taggers face.

He stood up and stretched. Tagger had a long day ahead of him, a day of hunting Angela Duncan. Soon he would get her, and break her neck.

Tagger couldn't wait.


	81. Rain

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXXXI: Rain**

The next morning began just how I expected it to begin. With screaming. Oh so much screaming.

I had managed to sneak back onto Michael's chest without him waking up. His arms were grasping at dirt, and his eyes were jerking wildly under the lids. He was having the dream about my death again, but I didn't know then.

The sun was peaking over the tree tops, as I curled up into a ball. It was completely above them by the time I was asleep. It was only a little higher when Lisa started to scream.

"Fuck! Oh fuck! How the fuck?! Fuck!" Lisa was sitting up, holding a Pikachu at arms length. Pecha, completely unconscious, oblivious to the screaming of her trainer. She yawned, shooting off a stream of sparks, before opening her eyes.

"Cha!"

"Fuck!" Lisa was understandably freaking out. You don't got to bed with a Pichu and wake up with a Pikachu. Especially one who absolutely despises your guts, and anybody with two brain cells can see it.

"Awe, Pecha evolved!" Louis said, "She must have really liked you" Two brain cells. Also known as one more then Louis had.

"Pecha evolved?" Michael mumbled, sitting up. "Was that why you were screaming? Just because Pecha evolved?"

"Guys?" Louis asked, gesturing behind him, "Did I always have a Slaking, or is that something new?" Michael and Lisa stared, both mystified by the Slaking and the bottomless pit that was Louis's stupidity.

"No Louis" Michael said, sarcasm dripping off of his tongue, "You've always had a Slaking"

"I thought as much" Louis mumbled. He then collapsed back onto the ground. L3 poked him twice, to verify he wasn't dead. When she saw he wasn't, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

"How did Pecha evolve?" Lisa asked, turning to Michael. "How on Earth did Pecha evolve?"

"I'm glad you notice my superior Chu form, Kip stealing whore" Pecha said, "Pecha is so happy, she will not bring your destruction upon today. Tomorrow though, the streets will run red with your blood, and your flesh will burn with my electrical might! Pi-pi-pi-pi-pi" Pecha laughed. "New Chu Order!"

"Could it be her love for you?" Michael asked.

"Pecha hates me" Lisa said flatly. "I didn't get to almost be champion by being self deluded. Pecha despises me. I love her though" She nuzzled the Chu, who stopped laughing.

"Keep your human ugly face off of the Chu!" Pecha cried. She tried to zap Lisa, and ended up zapping herself. "The Chu is injured not! Pecha will dominate all! Then Rush will love me! New Chu Order! New Chu Order!"

"Give it a rest you zealot" I snarled. Pecha stuck out her tongue at me, so I attempted to fire a shadow ball. Since I was so tired though, I ended up hitting L3 who fell on top of Louis.

Behind me, Flash was watching us. He had never fallen asleep, because he had been talking to Trish. The tiny Skarmory, one of Flash's few friends, who had decided to return to the group with us. She was trembling, scared to death of being this close to the group.

"You okay?" Flash asked. Trish nodded, still trembling like crazy.

"I-I just, I just" Trish gulped. "I don't deal well with humans. More specifically, trainers. I don't like trainers or humans with pokeballs, none of that. I treasure my freedom, especially after having been in that damn cage for so long. I don't ever want to go back" Flash smiled.

"Don't worry, you won't  
"Thanks dude" Trish said, "I guess my biggest worry is"

"Cool! Skarmory!" Louis said, pulling himself out from under L3. He tossed a pokeball (Where the hell did he get it from?) at Trish, who was sucked in. The ball hit the ground, shook three times, and clicked shut.

"Damn it" Flash mumbled.

"Where did you get that pokeball?" Michael asked.

"I dunno, found it" Louis replied. He released Trish, who looked up at him.

"Damn it!"

"I know!" Louis said, "I'll name her L5!" I shouldn't have laughed. It was insensitive of me to laugh. I did so anyways though.

"I can't be named L5!" Trish moaned, almost sobbing.

"Sure you can" I mocked. "Not only can you be named L5, you are!" I started to laugh hysterically.

"Say it again" Trish growled.

"Okay. You're named" That was all I got out before Trish swooped at me.

* * *

Route 119 is a weird ass route, probably the weirdest route in all of Hoenn. Christ knows that it's the longest. The route is home to the weather research center, where they breed Castform. It rains endlessly there, but due to all of the Castform, it never floods. Two and a half weeks worth of walking through the rain was what we had to look foreword to.

Thanks to the rain, Titan, Sharon, and Wisp would have to be in their pokeballs for the next few weeks. It was really sad for Sharon, who had taken the last of her pills today.

The rain soaked me to the bone in a matter of seconds, and I couldn't stop shaking. Enfer was beside me, also soaked. For her though it was even worse, since Enfer was a fire-type.

"Doesn't it hurt?" I asked her. Enfer shrugged.

"Feels like I'm being stabbed all over with nails. I get used to it though. Would I rather be out of it? Of course"

"It's making you bleed!" I said.

"Not much" Enfer said, "I'm at level 100. I'm as strong as an Arcanine could possibly get. I'll be fine" When she pulled up her front paw, blood and water had pooled in her paw print.

Enfer walked off, and I went over to Bane. Mostly because I needed a song.

"Bane, how are you today?" I asked as innocently as I possibly could. He looked up at me, tired beyond words. "You know what I would hear? I'd like"

"Hello Angela" Flash said. I screamed so loud it shattered the rain drops, and I jumped straight up in the air.

"Bless you" Bane said. Flash was accompanied by Trish, who he was carrying (the rain was pouring so heavily, Trish couldn't fly). Right now she was unconscious in Flash's arms. Nel was at his feet, all of her hair standing up out of fear. Pecha was behind him, lost in her own megalomania induced world.

"Bane, I want you to sing" Pecha said. The Riolu looked back at the Pikachu who was still ecstatic about evolving. "Sing a song about the greatness that is Pecha!"

"Why would I do that?"

"The newly evolved Chu demands that you sing! Sing to the leader of the New Chu Order"

"No!" Pecha's left I twitched.

"Do it, or when Pecha takes over the world and enslaves all the human flesh sacks, you wont get to be my wandering minstrel" Those two words were all it took.

"A wandering minstrel I!" Bane began to sung, "A thing of shreds and patches" I slammed into Bane, knocking him on his ass.

"No Gilbert and Sullivan" I growled. "No songs by any people who willingly name a woman Yum-Yum" I turned back at Pecha. "Besides, why should we do anything for you? You've been so evil! You tried to have us kicked out of the group! Not only that, but you were so hammy when you did it! I kept expecting you to tie me to a table and try to cut me in half with a laser"

"Pecha is not evil!" Pecha cried. "The Chu only did what was necessary, until Rush changed the Chu's mind. Oh my dear sweet Kip" Her eyes went dreamy.

"We want an apology" Bane said, standing up. We hadn't discussed an apology from Pecha, but yeah we deserved one. "You made our lives hell. You tried to have us expelled from the group! For no reason other then you could!"

"Pecha apologizes to none!" Pecha said, "Only my dear sweet Kip will ever Pecha say those wretched words" Pecha went dreamy eyed again, dreaming of her and Rush fucking.

"I-I'm sorry" Nel said, stammering as she did. I looked over at the shaking Skitty. Nel looked terrified, and sopping wet, rain having soaked her. Her eyes looked big and black in the light, extremely sad. "For everything that I uh did. I didn't mean to do it, I was s-scared of you. You have to understand, my relationship with humans isn't the best in the world, I don't deal with them well"

"It's okay" I said, hating to have to say it. "I forgive you" A small part of me died right then, and saying those words wounded me.

"What did happen to you?" Bane asked. Nel shook her head rapidly.

"To awful, I just can't talk about it" She mumbled. "Flash though has agreed to help me deal with my pain"

"Why the fuck would you do that?" I asked him. Flash shrugged.

"Have you ever considered I did it just because I wanted to do a good thing? That maybe being selfless is a good thing?"

"No it isn't!" I screamed. Okay, I was still a selfish bitter little bitch then. Of course, Flash was almost a saint at this point in time, so their was no way I was living up to his standards.

"What was it like?" Nel asked, "B-being a human? Pecha said you're meat bags with no souls"

"Pecha's a stupid fucker" I said. "But to a certain degree she's right. I'm certain the two morons who raised me didn't have souls"

"I know my parents didn't" Bane said. "They taught me they didn't have souls when I was only two"

"Those things on your hands" Nel said, "The ones on the sides"

"….Thumbs?"

"Yeah, those freak thumbs. W-what do you do with them? Why on earth do you need those things? Can't you do every thing you need with paws?"

"If humans had paws, we'd be on four legs" I said. "If humans had paws, they would never be able to capture a pokemon"

"Sounds good to me" Trish mumbled.

"Why do humans build buildings?" Nel asked, making me wonder how she knew that building was a word but not what thumbs were called? I made my head hurt. "Why not dig burrows, or live in trees, or just deal with nature like pokemon?"

"Well some humans do live in trees" Bane said, reminding me of what city we were headed to. "But for the most part…I dunno. Humans don't have fur or scales, or the ability to deal with the elements. Humans feel the need to essentially be masters of the world. They need to dominate, I guess to make up for how weak they are"

"They are to weak not to be dominated by Pecha!" Pecha suddenly exclaimed. New Chu Order! New Chu Order!" We stared for a moment, as Pecha went silent.

"Kay" Nel said. "Why do humans train pokemon? Sometimes they don't mind it, but other times you're taking us from our homes! From our families! How can you be so cruel?"

Boy was that a good question. I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out, because I had nothing to say. People didn't rely think about things like this, like how they effected the lives of the pokemon they captured.

"Nel" I said, "When I was human, I wanted to be a pokemon trainer. More then I wanted to live (with my parents you couldn't blame me) I wanted to be a trainer. I needed to be one, to the point that I wrote strategies and made a book of ideas! I didn't care about the pokemon, I didn't care about what I did to them. That's why they do it Nel, they don't care. People are…selfish. They're not bad, they try to do good, but they're selfish"

"You wanted to be a trainer?" Nel asked. "What would you name your pokemon? Cunt, Bitch, Shithead, and Fucker?" Bane laughed at this, and so did I.

"I had actual names picked out!" I exclaimed. Actually, I had numbers picked out. The way I looked at it, caring trainers numbered their pokemon.

"Why did you to end up reborn?" Nel asked. Oh boy, the big question. Bane and I looked at each other.

"Well, as you know, we both died" I said.

"Then legendaries came and offered us a chance to come back" Bane said. "I don't know why us. The only thing we had in common was we weren't adults, except when Enfer was human, she was an adult. We didn't even die the same way"

"How did you die?" Everything went silent.

"That's…personal" I said, "I'm sure you understand" Nel nodded rapidly. "You have any more questions?" Nel smiled sheepishly.

"One" She said. "C-can we be friends again?" I looked at her, the rain nearly blinding me, pouring over my eyes. Bane smiled, and I did also.

"We'd love to be friends again" Bane said. We had only begun to scratch the surface, but I knew right then, it would be fine.

Every thing would be all right.


	82. Taps in Fortree

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXXXII: Taps at Fortree**

Fortree City is a weird ass city. For some reason, the citizens decided that living on the ground was for pansies, and they should all go live in trees. I'm not joking, they actually think it's a good idea to live in trees.

When we arrived in Fortree, it had been over two months since our last gym battle. We had been walking almost all of that time and by now we were all tired and dirty. Titan, Sharon, and Wisp had been in their pokeballs for over two weeks, only released to eat and sleep. This meant Michael got the fun job of carrying Dex, who enjoyed riding on his face.

Today though it was all going to change. The rain had stopped, and we were all dripping wet, standing in front of a wooden gate. A wonderful gate that read "Fortree City" on it, such a beautiful gate. Lisa released Wisp, but Michael just looked at Sharon and Titan's pokeballs.

"I can't release Titan, he can't make it up the stairs, and is to heavy. Sharon, even though she flies, she's just to big!" He turned to Louis. "Which is why you should put L3 in her pokeball"

"Why I do that?" Louis slurred. He was beginning to sway back and forth, and from here I could smell booze.

"Because Louis, L3 ways a quarter of a ton and is as wide as a semi-truck. Just put her into her pokeball Louis" Louis sighed, and lifted up L3's pokeball. He opened it to retract L3, but he ended up aiming the retraction laser into his own eye. Louis screamed, fell on the ground, and started rolling back and forth.

"Your trainer is an idiot," I said to Nel.

"Oh, I know" Nel said, "Why do you think he doesn't scare me? He's as dangerous to me as a bowl of jelly" Louis finally managed to lift his pokeball again, and aim at L3. L3 by this time was roaring with laughter (and by roaring, I mean laughing once), when Louis finally recalled her.

"Is my eye that bad?" Louis asked. His eye was a solid red mass, so swollen we couldn't even see his iris.

"Your eye is fine Lou" Lisa said, even she was a bit amazed by him trying to recall his eye. "Come on, let's go" Now, on the ground level there is a pokemon center, and a pokemon mart. The gym is also on ground level, but it's surrounded on all sides by trees. Nope, not joking about that either. The only way to get to it is to climb down wooden stair case that have been carved out of a pair of large trees on both sides of the gym. A similar staircase was beside the pokemon center, which we quickly headed up.

"Hey Angel" A voice called out. I looked back to see Wisp following behind me.

"Hey Wisp. What do you want?" I asked. Wisp almost looked guilty, or as guilty as a Vulpix can look. I dunno, those giant eyes are fucking creepy and show no emotion.

"I wanted to talk to you awhile ago" Wisp said, "but I've been stuck in that freaking ball for so long" She stretched her back, "I never got a chance. I wanted to say I'm sorry. Sorry for siding with that yellow nut job" Wisp's voice was gruff, and she was having trouble finding the words.

"It's alright Wisp," I said. "I can tell this isn't your things, so I'm just going to stop you now. I know you didn't want to side with Pecha, you just didn't have any choice"

"…Why did I have no choice?"

_A time traveling, dimension warping, super powered Milotic bitch used mind control to turn you against me._

"Oh, you just didn't" I said, smiling. We came to the top of the staircase, and out onto a platform several stories up. My energy was practically sapped away up there. The sun was high in the sky, and there were no clouds. I had begun to really despise the sun, and the two and a half weeks without it had been great for me. One thing I noticed was I wasn't the only one bothered by being there.

"H-how high up do you think this is?" Wisp asked. Her body was shaking, and hey eyes were even wider then usual.

"I dunno" I said, "Who gives a"

"How high?" Wisp screamed.

"No idea, high enough, why?" Wisp grinned nervously. "No, you're not afraid of highest are you?" We started to move from the platform to the rope bridge, one of several that connects all of the buildings together.

"No! I'm not scared; fear is for the weak! I" The bridge shook, and Wisp jumped straight into Lisa's arms. Lisa was having trouble walking with the cane, and having Wisp jump into her arms knocked her onto her ass. Lisa hit hard, and the entire bridge shook. Michael and Louis both got knocked down, followed by Enfer.

"Can't we just go one day with out getting knocked on the ground?" Michael mumbled, pulling himself up off of the ground. "Alright, the gym is open today, but I'm to tired to even think about battling. Let's find the hotel, the luxurious Pressman, it's carved out of a tree"

"So is every building in this town" I mumbled.

"Excuse me, pardon me, coming through, 'scuse me" A tall, black man wearing a tuxedo walked over us. His tuxedo was made of the shiniest material ever made, so shiny that the sun reflecting off of it knocked flying-types out of the sky. His shoes made tapping noises, and they had metal on the bottom. Why on earth was he wearing tap shoes?

Ignoring it, we continued across the bridge. The wood was worn, and I wondered how safe it was having all of us walk across. Especially considering one of us was a four hundred-pound Arcanine.

"I've never been in Fortree" Bane said, coming up beside me. "Fortree was one of the places I wanted to perform someday. Their TreeTop Theatre is the best theatre in Hoenn. I never got out of Sinnoh though"

"Sucks to be you" I said.

"I wanted to be the next Gene Kelly" Bane said, starting to go off on a tangent. "The best dancer/singer in all of Sinnoh. Then I broke my legs, and my dream ended" He looked over his Riolu body. "Among other things"

* * *

The hotel wasn't a giant tree house, but actually a carved out tree. The tree was huge, and made up of some kind of black wood. It was unusually shiny, and had most of its branches cut off.

Michael and Louis went over to the front desk to reserve a room. After a few minutes, Michael returned to us, his face locked in confusion. Louis looked out of it, so essentially he looked normal.

"What happened?" Lisa asked.

"They said if we take the room under the top room, they'll throw in the mini-bar and room service free of charge" Michael said.

"That's cause they're so friendly" Louis slurred. Lisa and Michael looked at each other; both of them worried about this. Ignoring it, we headed up to our room.

The stairs were almost rotten, with the wood badly warn. I took a step, and jumped straight up, yowling in pain.

"Oh Angel, you get a splinter in your paw?" Michael asked, grabbing me. He held me on my back in his arms, and I could see Dex riding on his head. "Yep, there's a nasty splinter in her right forepaw. I've got tweezers in my bag, I'll take care of it once we're in our room"

"Do you hear something?" Lisa asked, "Some kind of tapping?" We all stopped and listened. There was something like a dull tapping alright.

"What is that?" Michael asked.

"Who cares, let's get to our room" Each one of the rooms in hotel actually took up an entire floor. The wooden spiral staircase was in the center of the room, so to get to any floor you had to walk through someone's living room. Luckily enough we were staying on the second highest floor, so not many people would be coming up. Unfortunately for us…

Tap-tap-ta-tap-tap-ta-tap-tap-ta-tap. We looked up at the wooden ceiling, which was vibrating. The tap was loud and constant, and so hard that it was causing the lights to shake. The walls were vibrating, and the taping was so loud we couldn't think.

"What is that?" Lisa cried.

"I dunno" Michael replied, slumping down on the double bed with me in his arms. He pulled the tweezers out of his bag, and tried to pull the splinter out of my paw. The tapping was so loud; it caused Michael to drop his tweezers.

"Crap, sorry Angel" He sat me down on the bed, and then sat Dex down beside me. "I'm going to go down to the desk, see if I can find out about the tapping"

With Michael down at the desk, I was stuck on the bed with my paw getting infected. Fuck this sucked. Flash came over to me, Trish still in his arms. Trish was still all wet, and she would take a while to dry off.

"Don't you love that tapping?" Flash asked. "I can hear it so perfectly, I can almost imagine the people tapping in my head"

"They sound like a herd of Rhydon stomping on wood" I growled.

"It's fantastic" Flash said, "You can hear how much training they've put into it, you never hear them miss a beat"

"I'd rather hear them stop!" I cried. The bed was even shaking, since it was built out of the floor. I was starting to feel nauseated. "Trish, can you use you beak to get the splinter out?"

"Sorry Angel" Trish said, "I might bite through your paw pads. You wouldn't be able to walk for weeks after that"

"Lousy bird" I mumbled. God I needed out of this vibrating hotel. I needed out of the sun. I needed not to be one day away from fighting the strongest gym leader in Hoenn. Shu came and jumped on the bed beside me, causing it to shake even more.

"I'd always heard Fortree was a city built on the tree tops" Shu said, "You know when I heard it, I didn't believe it? I said I'd believe it when I saw it, and I never thought I'd live to see it"

"Considering you're reborn, you didn't" Trish pointed out. Shu stuck out his tongue.

"I like this place though, they built it right into the trees. When I was human, I loved walking in the woods, made me feel like I was apart of nature. I always liked nature more then people, and let's face it, growing up in Orre you get a lot of nature"

"You grew up in Orre?" I asked. "When? How long ago?"

"…Why?"

"Because the Orre riots have been practically non-stop for the last twenty years! Did you see them? Did you live through them? Did you" Shu gulped, and closed his mouth extremely tight.

"Something wrong Shu?" Flash asked.

"I, I can't" Shu began blinking rapidly, and one tear rolled down his furry cheek. "I can't talk about it" His tone alone showed how painful it was to talk about.

"Guess whose back" Michael said, coming up the stairs. He was holding a silver platter with a bottle of champagne and three large flutes. The tapping made the tray shake, and the flutes were all on their sides.

"What's with the booze?" Louis asked, jumping up. The sight of the champagne had made him very excited.

"Complements of the hotel" Michael said. "The Hoenn Touring Tap Dancers are performing in Fortree in two weeks. Until then, they're staying in the room above us, practicing. Two whole weeks! Not only that, but they weren't allowed to rent out any rooms until they rented this one, and when they saw us, they saw suckers! We can't change the room, and all other hotels are booked! Did I mention two straight weeks of tapping!" Michael was starting to get frantic, which he did when he was really ticked off. "On the plus side, unlimited champagne!"

"Theirs a card" Lisa said, standing up and hobbling over. She grabbed the card, and took a look. "It says ha ha ha, you lose" Lisa grabbed the bottle, and popped the cork. She took one look at the shaking ceiling, before taking a slug out of the bottle. "I think we'll each need one of this for the amount of time it'll take you to get your badge"

Michael sat the tray on the wooden table, before coming back over to me. He put me on his lap, and grabbed the tweezers.

"Uh, Michael" I asked cautiously, "Should you be trying to do that with the vibrating" Michael jabbed me in the paw with the tweezers. "Yow! Son of a bitch"

"Crap, cut her. Let's try this again" Michael gouged me a second time, and I unleashed a string of profanity so horrible that I can't repeat it to you my dear listener. "One last time Angel, hold still"

"How about you hold still and I jab you in the nads with a pen knife" I snarled. I held still though, and Michael was finally able to get the splinter out of my paw. Unable to find a towel, Michael dabbed my bloody paw with his shirt.

"That better Angel?" He asked.

"Umbre!" I said. I felt odd in his arms, I felt safe. I felt a strange bond that you could only feel with trainer and pokemon. Michael was my protector, and I was fine with that.

* * *

Have you ever tried to sleep in a building with tap dancers practicing above you? Tap dancers who practiced all fucking nightlong? Well imagine if you were trying to sleep, and someone kept hitting you on the head with a hammer.

Then you'd be in half as much pain as I was.

I was so tired, and I desperately needed sleep. It didn't help that, since I had my giant ears I could hear sounds so much better now. Each tap was a nail in my ear, being pounded into my brain. Only one thing made me happy, that no one else had slept either.

Michael yawned, as he got out of his sleeping bag. With only one bed in the entire room, Michael and Louis had been relegated to sleeping bags. I'd like to point out just how selfish it was to make the person who had the gym battle the next day sleep on the floor, but I slept in the bed so who cares?

"You ready for the battle today?" Lisa asked.

"As much as I can be," Michael said. He recalled every one into their balls except me. "I'm worried though, Winona is good"

"Best in Hoenn"

"Thanks for reminding me" Michael said. I jumped into his arms. Enfer looked up at me from the floor.

"Are you ready for this?" Enfer asked.

"Of course I am" I said, "I've been looking foreword to this!"

"No you're not," Enfer said, grinning.

"Of course not, but its gotta be done" I said. Michael looked up at the tapping roof one last time, and sighed.

"Come on, let's head out"


	83. To Loose A Match

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXXXIII: To Loose A Match**

I fucking hate Fortree City Gym, and those fucking birds. Oh fuck I hate them so fucking much. I hate Winona because of her fucking birds.

As a trainer though I have nothing but respect.

Winona is the best in Hoenn, and the leader of the Hoenn gym leaders. Most trainers avoid her gym and go to smaller, more obscure gyms. She's one tough bitch, one who I wrote multiple pages of notes on. Today we were going to face her. Oh joy.

* * *

The Fortree gym is one of three buildings in the entire tree top city that's on the ground. It's an odd building, in that it doesn't have a roof. No I'm not lying, the building has no roof.

Heading down the wooden stairs reminded me of how much my forepaw hurt. Michael looked like someone had spent the night beating him with a ball bat. Lisa was twitching, and looked her hair stuck out like she had been electrocuted. Louis looked drunk, so he was normal. Even Enfer looked tired, or as close as the Arcanine could.

Air conditioning poured over us as we entered one of the few areas in the gym that had a roof. The receptionist was to busy leafing through a magazine to even look at us.

"Trainers that door, observers that door" She said, while smacking gum.  
"Just got done with some red haired idiot, she'll be waiting for you" Lisa, Louis and their pokemon headed through the observers door. Michael looked down at me.

"Red haired idiot? You don't think?"

"Christ I hope not" I mumbled, as we walked through the trainer door. The sun made me squint, and it was a moment before I could even see the gym. The entire floor was dirt, and we kicked up little clouds when we walked. To the right were several benches, where Louis and Lisa had set up. The two of them had used the benches as a chance to fall asleep, lucky fuckers.

Michael and I took our place on the trainers mat, and Winona was on the gym leaders mat. As usual she was wearing a multi-layered outfit and winged hat, which I wondered how she could wear considering it was going to be a high of 94 today. She didn't even acknowledge us when we walked out, she was sitting on the mat and seemed depressed.

"Greetings Winona" Michael said, "I've come to" Winona didn't look up. "Winona? Hello?". Winona sighed, and turned to us.

"Sorry kid" She said, standing up. It was then I noticed that her hat didn't have wings on it, but it was her hair styled like wings, sticking out from underneath it. "I'm depressed. I just got beaten an hour ago by this red-haired idiot. This moron who did not deserve to win a gym badge"

"Was this moron wearing a pants suit?" Michael asked, dreading the answer.

"Why yes! Yes she was! How did you know?"

"I know said moron" Michael said.

"Well, enough about her. Let's get started" Winona smiled, "Challenger goes first"

"Of course" Michael said. He unclipped one of the pokeballs on his belt. "Flash, you're up!" Flash appeared on the field.

"I'm more then ready sir" He said in his usual polite way. Winona pulled out her pokeball, which had small wings welded onto it.

"Noctowl, you first" A large Noctowl appeared on the battlefield. I gulped nervously.

Michael made the right move sending out Flash first, since Winona usually used her Skarmory first, and Flash would be the only one who could take it down. Instead she had used her Noctowl, and here was where our problem lay.

Although Noctowl was weak against electricity, it was both fast, and it's only offensive attacks were psychic ones. While Flash wasn't weak to them, they would still hurt a lot. If Flash got knocked out, we would have a real hard time taking down the damn Skarmory when it showed up.

"Flash, thunder bolt"

"Agility Noctowl" Noctowl began to zip across random spots on the battle field, and Flash attempted to zap it. Each shock ended up hitting the dirt, doing no damage.

"Crap, agility also Flash" Flash started to jump around with Noctowl, who was fluttering a few feet above him. I could only see them for a second before they zipped to another spot on the battle field. Sometimes I couldn't even see them then, I would just hear a zap and see another scorch mark appear on the ground.

The two finally stopped jumping around and faced each other. Their hearts were pounding through their chests, and Flash was panting.

"Psybeam Noctowl"

"Dodge it and thunder wave" Purple energy fired out of Noctowls head, looking at it made me dizzy. Flash jumped to the right and fired a thunder wave, which Noctowl avoided by flying straight up. Noctowl then fired a second psybeam, this one hitting its target.

Flash got knocked back, and flipped over, finally landing on his stomach. He stood up, shaking dirt off of himself, before firing a thunder bolt at Noctowl.

"Zen headbutt" Noctowls skull started to glow purple, and it launched its self straight at Flash. The thunderbolt hit, but Noctowl was able to fly through it with little damage. Noctowl hit Flash in the chest, causing his eyes to bulge out.

"Okay, that hurt" Flash grabbed onto Noctowl before it could pull back, "But not nearly as much as this will hurt."

"Flash! Thunder"

"Noctowl, hypnosis" Noctowls eyes started to glow, and they caused Flash to pass out. Not before he used thunderbolt though. The giant bolt of electricity came out of the (cloudless?) sky and hit both of them. Flash was virtually unharmed, if not still asleep. Noctowl though was out cold.

Victory for us!

"Very good" Winona said, "That was very good. Now try this, Skarmory" Winnie's Skarmory appeared on the field with a large cry. I wanted to scream also, but mostly because I knew she was going to use her Skarmory, and Flash was asleep.

Crap.

"Skarmory, spikes" Winona commanded. Skarmory promptly threw up a series of small spikes, all over the ground. At first glance, this seemed like a throw away move, but Winona knew Flash would soon be knocked out. When he was gone, who ever took his place would have to deal with the spikes.

"Flash, thunder bolt! Thundershock! Any freaking attack at all!" Flash didn't even look up, as the Skarmory slammed into Flash, throwing him to the ground. It didn't matter if that had knocked him out, his part in this match was over.

"Good job Flash" Michael said, recalling the Ampharos. He looked over the spiked on the ground. "Sharon, you're up" The Flygon emerged above the field. She looked down at the ground.

"Spiky!" That Flygon has the IQ of a cantaloupe. She began to fly around, doing spins and flips in the air.

"Is there something wrong?" Winona asked, confused.

"More then you could imagine lady" I mumbled.

"She's just been in her pokeball for way to long" Michael said. "Sharon, you ready?" Sharon nodded rapidly.

"Skarmory, twister"

"Double team Sharon" About twenty copies of Sharon suddenly appeared, encircling the Skarmory. Skarmory flapped purple waves of energy at the copies, vaporizing many of them, but not before Sharon slammed into the Skarmory.

"Fun!" Sharon said, before head butting the Skarmory. The metallic bird used twister again, causing the dragonic energy to cover Sharon and hurt her. Sharon was forced to let go, and the Skarmory fluttered back

"Skarmory, brave bird"

"Sharon, flamethrower" That beautiful little move had been one Michael had taught Sharon right after she evolved. The Skarmory streaked towards Sharon, who unleashed a torrent of fire on the metallic bird. It so consumed Skarmory, that it fell out of the sky unconscious.

"Good job Skarmory" Winona said, calling the bird back. "Dragonite, you're up" A large Dragonite appeared on the field, yawning. It looked at Sharon lazily, as if it didn't care that it was here.

"Doing good Sharon, dragon claw" Sharon's claws glowed a rich purple, and she launched herself at Dragonite.

"Ice beam" Winona commanded. Dragonite opened its mouth and fired a beam of freezing energy right at Sharon. She barrel rolled to avoid it, and slashed Dargonite across the chest.

It barely made a scratch. Dragonite used this as a chance to grab Sharon in it's claws. She squirmed as hard as she could, but no luck.

"Blizzard"

"Dragon breath Sharon" The stream of purple flames were no much from the ice that over whelmed Sharon, quickly coating her. She was so covered in snow and ice, I couldn't see a single scale on her body.

"Hyper beam" Winona ordered. Dragonite opened its mouth and fired a beam of pure energy at Sharon. It sent her spiraling into the ground, slamming into it head first. The ice shattered, and scattered every where, giving us a view of our poor little Flygon. Sharon was bruised, and out cold. Michael recalled her, and looked at her ball for a second.

"You did great" He whispered, before clipping her ball to his belt again. He then unclipped another ball, "Titan, you're up"

"God I hate that ball" Titan growled, upon appearing on the field. He looked up at the Dragonite. "Oh fuck, fuck fuck fuck". Titan started shaking in his tin boots. By now, all of the spikes on the field had dissolved, so Titan could walk around freely. The Dragonite was paralyzed for one minute after using hyper beam.

"Rock throw" Michael ordered. Out of no where, multiple rocks appeared, that Titan began to toss right at the Dragonite. It hit it up side the head, in its stomach, hit both of its legs, and between its legs. Then a minute ended.

"Earthquake" Winona ordered. The ground began to shake and ripple, throwing Titan onto his back. A wave of the earth rose up, and crashed onto him, leaving him covered in rocks and dirt. Titan pulled himself up, only to get flipped over, and knocked out.

With one attack. Titan was knocked out with one attack. He looked like someone had run him over with a truck, but no. It was just one attack.

"Titan, return" Michael said, recalling him into his pokeball. Even Michael seemed a bit mystified that Titan was taken down in just one hit. Even though Titan was double weak to ground attacks, he's of a high enough level that only the strongest ground attacks by strong pokemon should do that kind of damage. "Okay, bad but could be worse. Rush, you next"

"Kip!" Rush exclaimed, emerging on the field. The Dragonite seemed disappointed by the little Mudkip. At least, I think the expression on its face was disappointment. "Rush, double team"

"Dragonite, twister" Purple energy started to swirl across the field, disintegrating the various duplicate Mudkip. Rush jumped out and at the Dragonite, before the energy could hit him.

"Ice ball Rush" Rush summoned a ball of ice, which slammed into the Dragonites face. The ball, propelled by some unknown force, pulled back and slammed for a secured time. It could do it up to five times. When it pulled back for a third hit, Dragonite opened its mouth. When it tried to hit, Dragonite bit down, turning it into ice cubes.

Rush hit the ground in front of Dragonite. By now Dragonite looked more bemused then disappointed.

"Agility Dragonite" The Dragonite started jumping around Rush. Rush could only barely keep up with the orange dragon.

"Water pulse Rush" Three rings of water shot out of Rush's mouth, following behind the speeding Dragonite.

"Body slam Dragonite" The Dragonite shot out at Rush, using an attack that I didn't think Dragonite could learn. Michael ordered another double team, but it was to late. The Dragonite slammed into Rush, only to be hit by the water pulse. The water pulse did almost nothing. The body slam sent Rush flying, tossing him onto his back. All of his limbs were rigid, and he was immobile. Still conscious, but paralyzed.

The Dragonite picked Rush up in its claws, Winona ordering a thunder bolt. Electricity flowed through Rush, frying him. Rush went limp in its claws, and was knocked out.

Fuck.

"Come on back Rush" Michael said, recalling Rush into his pokeball. He looked at the ball for a second, then at the Dragonite, then back at Rush's ball. Michael clipped Rush's pokeball back on his belt, then looked at me, then at Bane's pokeball. Someone who had no chance against a Dragonite or someone who had no chance and was weak against a Dragonite. Not really a choice.

"Angela, you're up" Michael said.

"Are you sure?" I asked, even though he couldn't understand me. I sighed, and walked out onto the field. I was already tired, do to the high sun and lack of sleep from the night before. On top of that, my forepaw was still throbbing from being jabbed with the damn tweezers. I really didn't need this shit.

"Dragon Rush Dragonite" Winona commanded.

"Confuse ray Angela" Did I even know confuse ray? I jumped back, trying to stay away from the dragon who was rushing at me. Suddenly, a shot of multi-colored energy emerged from my body and struck the Dragonite between the eyes. It automatically went cross-eyed, and slammed into the ground. Confuse ray kicks ass.

Dragonite pulled its self up, and shook off. It was still cross-eyed though, still confused.

"Brick Break" Winona commanded.

"Shadow ball Angel" Dragonites fist started to glow white with energy, and it slammed its fist into its face. I followed with a shadow ball, hitting him in the skull. The damn thing still refused to collapse.

"Another brick break" Winona commanded. Dragonite shook its head rapidly, before focusing on me. Oh fuck, most definitely no longer confused.

"Giga impact Angela" I jumped at the Dragonite, all of my energy concentrated on this attack, hitting the Dragonite in the chest. I felt his chest deflate, and heard air be forced out of his lungs. Sadly, this didn't stop the brick break, which hit me in the side and knocked me into the ground.

I looked up, almost seeing it happen in slow motion. Dragonite fell backwards, its body twisting from the force of the brick break. It hit the ground, and was finally knocked out.

"Kick ass" I mumbled, before passing out.

I was only vaguely aware of what happened to me next. I felt myself being picked up in someone's arms, had to have been Michael. I cracked my eyes open, but that was about all I could do. I felt horrible, none of my limbs were working.

"You did good Angel" I heard Michael whisper in my giant ears. I smiled, I did good and I could live with that. Michael sent out his one remaining pokemon.

"Bane, you're up" Bane emerged on the field, ready for his next gym battle. Winona looked down at him.

"I'm going to do you a favor" Winona said. "I'm going to defeat you with my strongest pokemon. Study its moves, so when you challenge again me, you may have an idea of what to do". She tossed out a polished pokeball, and an Altaria appeared on the field.

The Altaria radiated power. It was pleased to be on the field, my guess is it didn't get much battle time.

"Force Palm" Michael called,

"Sky Attack" Bane used force palm, hitting the Altaria as hard as it could. Sadly, this amounted to almost nothing. The Altaria became a glowing ball of flying-type energy. It slammed into Bane at point blank range. Bane flew through the air, battered and bruised after one attack. He hit the ground out cold. Michael sighed, and recalled him.

"You loose" Winona said. She then smiled. "You did good though kid, come back after you've trained a bit more" Great, we lost.

Fuck.


	84. After The Loss

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. **

**Call if you ever need help LXXXIV: After the Loss**

I felt numb. Even as I rode on the psychedelic dream machine, I felt numb. Loosing fucking sucks, it sucks so fucking much I can't fucking put it into words. I defeated that damn Dragonite, only to see Bane get knocked out in the next round. If he had been a Lucario, that might not have happened!

It wouldn't have mattered; it was a six-on-six battle. If by some miracle Bane had managed to eliminate that Altaria, we still would have had two more to go.

We had returned to the vibrating hotel room, which was just as pleasant as ever. Michael, Louis, and Lisa had gone down stairs to bitch about it, but I knew it wouldn't matter. Nothing mattered, we lost.

They had tried getting a room at the pokemon center, but all of the rooms were full. With Winona being such a hard ass, lots of trainers came to see if they could beat her, so Fortree was full year round. Fortree hospital was also full year round, with people falling off of the rope bridges. Makes you think building a city in the trees might have been a bad idea.

"Cursing Eeveon" An annoying voice chirped. Of course it would be her, why would it not be her? My life wasn't miserable enough.

"Greetings Pecha" I said, as the psycho Chu jumped up beside me on the bed. Pecha shot off sparks from her red cheek pouches as she jumped. As far as I could tell, she only did that to show off the fact she was no longer a Pichu. She would always be one in my mind though. As soon as she was done with the light show, Pecha sighed.

"Cursing Eeveon, make a note of the date" Pecha said. "Feel the weight of the words I am about to speak. Orgasm at the mastery of their delivery, as I say sorry"

".... Kay" Pecha turned to me.

"Now tell me cursing Eeveon," Pecha said, "Why did you decide to become an Eevee? What motivated you?"

"A person can't just decide to be reborn!" I cried.

"Pecha heard that not" She said, "Explain to the Chu why you decided to be reborn"

"Well" I said, "I was sitting in my wing backed chair in Duncan manor, staring out the open window, trying to figure out how best to help the world. Suddenly, an Eevee flew into the window, and I knew it was an omen! I should become an Eevee. So I did" Pecha by now was staring at me, wide eyed.

"That story was amazing Eeveon" Pecha said. "True though is it? Lie not to the Chu!"

"Why would I lie to you Pecha?" I asked sarcastically. As Pecha pondered this, Michael, Louis, and Lisa returned to the room.

"It's bullshit" Lisa ranted, "They have to get those people to stop tapping. I'm going crazy!"

"As they said," Michael replied, "They're not actually tapping at night, they're playing a tape of them tapping at night for some reason. Them tapping would be illegal, them playing a tape would be illegal. Them playing a tape though, and then paying a large sum of money, not illegal!"

"I don't know about you two" Louis said, "But I'm glad they gave us another bottle of champagne" Louis then popped the cork. I could see it fly straight at me, and that's all I remember before it hit me between the eyes.

* * *

I was obviously very tired, because I didn't wake up for 24 hours. When I finally woke up again, it was tomorrow, and we were outside. The sun burned into my retina, and I had to shut my eyes again.

"Angel?" Michael asked. Ugh, time to wake up. I yawned, and lifted my head up. We were at the base of the trees, outside of the pokemon center. Michael was ordering Titan in battle, while Lisa was ordering Sharon. Titan was focused, knowing he was training. Sharon was giggling convinced they were playing.

"I had no idea you were so tired," Michael said, kissing me on the forehead before setting me on the ground. Yawning, I walked over to Flash, who was studying the battle.

"Tell me Angel" He said, as soon as I sat down, "How are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"How are you handling the loss Angel? I know you generally have problems with loss"

"Fuck you!" I said, "I don't have problems"

"If you say so," Flash said. Titan tried hurling rocks at Sharon. Sharon grabbed two of them, and tossed them right back, laughing as she did.

"Even if I did" I snarled, "Can you blame me? The one thing I was good at as a human was pokemon battles. Michael didn't even use my strategy of the big three"

"Well maybe he didn't" Flash paused. "The big three?"

"For taking down flying-types. You need to rotate between the big three, rock-type, electric-type, and ice-type" I looked him straight in the eyes, "Speaking of which, you weren't pulling your weight. You took forever to take down one flying-type, what gives?"

Now, if you know anything about Flash, you know that it takes a lot to harm him. Flash was nearly indestructible mentally, physically not so much, but mentally he was a rock. Or so I thought he was. Even Flash had a sore spot though, and I had stabbed him in it.

Flash's eyes went empty. Not wide, or sad, but they looked very very empty. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words or sounds came out. His ball-tail twitched, and then his left eye began to twitch also.

"W-well Annnnnn" Flash tried to form the words. "I just, you know how it is with me, I'm not"

"Is something wrong Flash?" I asked. He shook his head rapidly. "You're sweating"

"I'm not sweating!" Flash protested, "I'm fine, very very fine" He stood up. "I have to go, like right now"

"Uh, okay" Flash took off running, as fast as he could. He eventually sat back down on the edge of the group, with his back to all of us. Odd.

"Angel?" Bane came over beside me. "Can I ask you a question"

"If you must," I said.

"Did I do good? I mean during the gym battle yesterday. I tried my best against the Altaria, but I only got one attack off! How crazy is that?"

"Very insane" I said. "I didn't do very good either. That Dragonite had been against three of us before it was my turn. Three of us. I still ended up using an attack that sapped all of my energy, in order to cause a double knock out!" Bane sighed.

"It doesn't help that I'm a fighting-type, going up against a flying-type. It would be like me trying to go one on one with an Alakazam. I'd always get my ass kicked"

"Well if you would evolve," I said, "We wouldn't be having this problem. Speaking of which, why don't you evolve? All you have to do is be happy" Bane frowned.

"You know, being happy isn't that easy for me"

"Why not? Aren't we a pleasant group?" I asked.

"I guess" Bane mumbled. That was all he got out as Trish fluttered down beside us.

"Hey guys"

"Hey Trish" We said in unison. Trish seemed bothered by something, but I wasn't sure what.

"Their is a problem with Flash" Trish said.

"Like what?"

"Like his head is in his paws, and he's sobbing" Now we were all looking at the Ampharos. Like Trish said, his head was in his paws. "I know you're the last one, who spoke to him Angel, what the hell did you say to him?" I shrugged.

"Nothing much, we talked about how we got whipped yesterday, I mentioned something about him sucking on the battlefield, but other then that nothing" Bane and Trish both groaned. "What?"

"You're a moron," Trish said.

"Angela" Bane began, "No offence, but you have all of the subtlety and tact of an out of control garbage truck filled with dynamite. I know you mean well, but you're words hurt"

"How do I not have tact?!" I cried. Trish smiled at this.

"I dunno, the swearing, the screaming, calling us names, trading insults, acting like a child, pick one" She said. I stuck out my tongue, and Bane smacked me upside the head.

"Okay, it might be my fault" I snarled, "What do you want me to do?" Trish grinned evilly. "Oh no, please don't make me go talk to him! I'm not good with these emotional things"

"You have to do it" Trish said, "Go talk to him Angel"

"But!"

"Go" She commanded. I sighed, and started walking to Flash. I mostly gave in because both Bane and Trish were impervious to my attacks, and getting my ass kicked by Bane would just be embarrassing.

"Flash" The Ampharos looked up. He turned to me slowly, and put a fake smile on his face.

"Hello Angela" Flash said in a controlled voice. His eyes were puffy, and swollen. "D-do you need something?" I sighed. Well, seems only fitting that I ask this question.

"Are you unhappy?" I asked. Flash seemed startled by this question.

"Of course I'm happy Angela. I'm f-fine" Yeah, because when I'm happy I celebrate by crying and then stammering.

"Bullshit are you okay" I said, "Why are you unhappy?" Flash frowned, something I didn't even know he could do.

"Something you said really struck a nerve with me Angela" He said, his voice getting much quieter. "You mentioned I wasn't strong enough to win"

"Yeah, so what? If you didn't notice, none of us were strong enough. I was just trying to figure why it took you so long to take down one flying type, when you should have been able to take down half of them!" Flash's eyes had grown cold again; he wasn't paying attention to me. No, he was off in la-la land again.

"You've no idea what it means to have others rely on you Angela. You're idea of having people rely on you is winning your match in a gym battle"

"What's your idea?" Flash shook his head rapidly. "Flash, who was relying on you?" His eyes were watery again, but the Ampharos rapidly blinked them back.

"I was a Flaafy for a lot longer then you realize Angela" Flash said. "I wasn't strong enough to rise to a level that would allow me to evolve. I didn't care though Angela, I didn't. I had a mate, I had a child, I had a home away from the human world"

"What happened?"

"I watched them die" Flash said, "Watched them murdered. I wasn't strong enough to save them, not strong enough to defeat my brother"

"Your brother murdered your family!" I cried, "What a sick fucker" Flash also hadn't heard this. I could have hit him in the head with a hammer, he wouldn't have noticed.

"I can't be strong enough physically, and I knew it. I knew I had failed them, so I had to cleanse my self of them, in every way. I left my home and traveled through the human world. The human world...scared me"

"Then why travel through it?" Flash smiled.

"Because I needed to know, I needed to know why the world was as it was. I needed to know why me, why was I supposed to suffer" He sighed, "And I needed to be captured"

"Captured?!"

"Everything needed to change Angela, even my shape" Flash was gulped, and then continued "Seeing that ugly pink fur was just a reminder of what I was, a failure. When I first got captured, it was to a gambling man who tried to figure out how best to make cash off of me. He didn't feed me, he didn't train me, didn't even notice me"

"Flash, I"

"Please be silent" Flash said. "The day Michael paid for my freedom was the happiest day of my life. Even then, I was still a Flaafy, a pink image of failure. It was months before I evolved at least two. Each one of those days was worse then all of the ones before it, because of the anticipation of what was coming" I was silent.

"Do you think about them?" I asked, "At all?"

"Not as much as I could," Flash said. "I know it's selfish, but you guys help me forget about my life before, and I'm glad about that" He laughed. "When I first joined the group, I had a crush on you"

"You did?" I asked with mock shock, "Aren't I a little young for me?" Flash shrugged, "What made you change your mind?"

"I figured out something" Flash said, "I can only like you that way. As a friend though I can love you" He looked me in the eyes, it felt like he was staring into my soul "We are friends, right Angela?" I smiled.

"The best of Flash. The best of friends"

"Angel" Michael called out, "You're up"

* * *

That evening, we were still stuck in the tapping room. I was on Michael's chest, and he was slowly stroking my fur. Flash was right beside me, and I couldn't take my eyes off of him. You think you know someone, and then they drop a bomb on you.

"Tomorrow we're challenging Winona again" Michael said, "Do you think we'll win Angel?"

"We'll kick her ass" I mumbled.

I couldn't have been more wrong. More on that later though.


	85. A Serious House On Serious Earth

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXXXV: A Serious House On Serious Earth**

Technically there is no such thing as a flying-type. Technically every flying type is a secondary flying-type. They're primarily whatever the fuck their other type is. Does that change how our day was about to go? No, but it makes me feel less pissed off.

* * *

The day began like every other up to that point, hot and noisy. Ugh, my precious night music had become the sound of people tap dancing. Every thing had become fucking tap dancing.

"Another battle against Winona" Michael yawned, as he withdrew every one else into their pokeballs. "Please kill me now"

"It wont be that bad," Lisa said, stroking Shu behind his ears. All of her pokemon would stay here at the hotel. "If you're lucky, you'll get defeated quickly!" Michael stuck out his tongue, and she gave a one-finger response.

"I need booze," Louis cried, shooting up. He looked around at us, confused. "I had a dream I had no booze. Where am I again?" Even by Louis standards, he was drinking a lot. I would say I was worried, but the plague couldn't kill that man.

"You're in the sixth ring of hell Louis" Michael said, "Where lousy trainers are punished with tap dancing demons" He sat me on the ground, and then stood up. "Come on, let's get out of here"

It was a cloudy, humid day, perfect day for an outdoor gym battle. The wooden bridges shook as we walked across them, just a reminder of the brainpower that went into building Fortree. Enfer walked beside me, radiating heat.

"So, nervous?" First question out of her mouth.

"Why should I be? Just because I fought my heart out, and even then all I could do was knock out the Dragonite while he knocked me out" I giggled psychotically, "Why the fuck should I be nervous?!" If Enfer had thought I was nervous before, she was certain now.

"You'll do fine Angela" She said, "Believe me, I know what I'm talking about"

"You ever been in a gym battle?"

"....No" I sighed, "But I've been in plenty of battles, I'm at level 100"

"You got there on your own" I said, "After 16 years with Louis. I've been in this body almost ten months"

_And will be in it for only another four._

"I still wake up in the morning and am shocked by the black muzzle on my face! When I was human, I loved battling, but becoming a pokemon changed all of that. I hate battling, I end up getting hurt, and using attacks takes a lot of energy"

"I know. So, what was your strategy for dealing with Winona" I grinned. Even if I was beginning to dislike battling, I still liked talking about it.

"Well, my basic strategy is to rotate between the big three, electric, ice, and rock. Ice for her two dragon-type and the grass one, electric for every thing else, rock as a back up"

"Did you ever get to try your strategies?" My shoulders drooped.

"No. Not a single one of them. The Drunkens didn't like pokemon, they didn't like me, never even got to try"

"I'm so sorry Angel" I smiled.

"Thanks" It actually did feel good to hear her say that. By now we had finally reached the gym. I was absolutely exhausted, and the match hadn't even begun yet. That's usually a good sign.

The inside of the gym was the same, including gum smacking bitch receptionist. She looked up, and sighed.

"Hopeless losers in that door" She said, pointing. The bitch then returned to her magazine.

Louis and Lisa waved good-bye, while Michael and me headed through the door. Winona smiled as we entered.

"Ready to try again?"

"More then ready" Michael said.

"Good, then lets get started" She unclipped one of her winged pokeballs. "Noctowl, you're up!" The Noctowl burst onto the field, in a radiant burst of light. Michael looked down at me.

"Angel, you're up" Finally, using some common sense. I marched off of the field, barely able to hold my head up.

Noctowl was flying/normal-type, but one who rarely used either of those types of attacks. It primarily used psychic-type attacks, heck Winona's Noctowl only knew two flying-type attacks.

"Noctowl, Air Slash" That was one of them. Noctowl shot at me, its beak extended like some deadly projectile. I dodged to the right, and Noctowl ended up embedding its beak in the dirt. As it tried to pull out, I tackled it in the side. Noctowl pulled out, and looked at me.

"Angel, faint attack" I vanished for a second, and when I reappeared I slammed into Noctowl. Vanishing in a faint attack is odd, you're just suddenly in a new place. You have no time to think though, faint attack works like a yo-yo. You're only there for three seconds, and then you get pulled back.

"Noctowl, growl" About the only thing that she could do at this point in time. I would have loved to fire a shadow ball straight at his lousy beak, but that damn normal half made him immune.

"Angel, assurance" Assurance is a beautiful attack. If the last damage dealing attack comes from the pokemon using assurance, assurance does double the damage. Noctowl went down hard, as my dark energy fueled body slammed into it.

"Noctowl, use air attack" Noctowl fluttered back to life, and locked eyes with me. Damn, how many attacks could that bitch take?! I tried to avoid this attack also, but no dice. I got knocked on my ass by that attack.

_Shake it off Angela, shake it off. _I tried standing up, only to have my hind legs buckle. Holy fuck, one attack and I get knocked half way to hell. Luckily enough, I still had enough energy to fight.

"Angel, you're bleeding" Okay, not much energy, but some. I faced the Noctowl, breathing heavily.

"Bring it on bitch" Winona ordered another air slash, while Michael ordered dark pulse. Dark energy shot out of my mouth and struck the Noctowl sideways. Noctowl started to barrel roll, flying out of control. It slammed into the dirt, kicking up a cloud.

_Come on, come on_. The dust settled, and Noctowl was on its belly, out cold.

"One down" I whispered. Winona withdrew Noctowl, and unclipped her next winged pokeball.

"I think I'll bring out an old friend of yours" Winona said, grinning. "Dragonite, come on out" Winona's Dragonite burst onto the field in a radiant explosion of energy. It yawned, and even looking bored to be out on the field.

"Angel, giga impact" I would at best be able to take one attack from the Dragonite. So, I might as well cause as much damage as I possibly could.

Swirling with energy, I jumped and slammed into its chest. Fuck did that hurt, oh sweet heavenly fuck. It's, I think his, chest felt like it was made of solid steel. I slid down his chest and hit the ground in a cloud of dust.

I looked up just in time to see the Dragonite raise his canned ham sized fist. Don't remember much after that, I woke up in Michael's arms a couple of minutes later. My body felt like it was made of cement, even my neck was to stiff to move. Luckily, I was in Michael's arms on my side, giving me a great view of the field.

Rush was on the field, and panting already. Dragonite had ice on its chest, and was also panting? Well, at least Michael was finally taking my advice, focusing on using ice-type attacks.

"Dragonite, dragon breathe"

"Dodge Rush, then ice beam" Dragonite unleashed a torrent of purple flames, while Rush began by jumping side ways to avoid. Dragonite was flying in circle, and burning another circle on the ground. Eventually, the Dragonite had to stop, both flying and firing its flames.

"Now Rush!" Rush shot behind the Dragonite, as fast as his four legs would carry him. Faster then you could blink an eye, Rush aimed up and fired the ice beam at the Dragonites wings.

The wings iced up instantly, and the Dragonite hit the ground, almost immobilized. Michael ordered another ice beam, and this one iced over the dragon's backside and tail.

"Dragon claw" Dragonites claws glowed purple, as it hefted its frozen body up. It tried to slash at Rush, and only was able to hit air. Rush responded by freezing his legs to the ground.

Dragonite was by now nearly entombed in ice. He raised his fist above its, head, prepared to smash the ice on its chest.

"Ice beam" Rush froze the orange dragons arms above his head. Now all that remained was to freeze the dragon's head. Rush leapt at it.

"Hyper beam" The beam of pure energy hit the little Mudkip in mid-air. Rush was consumed, and vanished in the beam. I couldn't see him until the hyper beam finally ended, and the fried Kip fell out of the sky. Rush looked singed all over, and out cold.

"Good job Rush, return" Michael said, drawing Rush back into his ball. He unclipped a new pokeball, "Come on out Sharon"

"Where am I?" Sharon asked, as she appeared on the field. She looked over at the Dragonite. "Icy!" The Flygon truly was a genius.

"Sharon, rock throw"

"Ice beam Dragonite" Sharon tossed the rock straight at the dragons chest, as it prepared to fire. When it hit, it hit hard, smashing through the ice and throwing the Dragonite. Dragonite ended up firing straight into the air, and then collapsed on the ground.

"Very nice" Winona said, withdrawing the Dragonite. "Tropius, you're next" The giant grass dinosaur appeared on the field. Just for the record, I fucking hate Tropius, for a multitude of reasons. First off, it's an ugly bastard. Ugly, and very stupid looking with the melon helmet on its head, the palm frond wings, and the fruit growing off the sides of its head. Second, it's a stupid type combination, that is quadruple weak to ice. It gave up its resistance to bug-types, and gained a weakness to rock-types. Just fucking brilliant.

Tropius cawed, and flapped its...leaf-wings. It flew up, off of the ground, to the same level as Sharon.

"Tropius, leaf storm" About a thousand razor sharp leaves were shot straight at Sharon.

"Flame-thrower Sharon" Several of the leaves made contact with Sharon, cutting the fuck out of her scales. Sharon was able to avoid most of the damage by turning the leaves into ash.

"Fun!" Sharon shot foreword and slammed into Tropius. That's the problem with training pokemon like Sharon, they were way to unpredictable.

"Flame-thrower again"

"Dodge it, then air slash" Tropius dipped low, causing Sharon to burn air. He slashed Sharon across the chest, cutting her badly.

"Owe! That hurt!" Sharon whined, grabbing her chest. She rushed at Tropius, grabbing it by the fruit. "You go down now!" Sharon unleashed a flame-thrower, completely consuming the dinosaur's head. Sharon didn't let up, until Tropius finally quit struggling.

Sharon let go, and Tropius fell out of the sky, each one of its stupid wings going limp. Sharon then did a flip in mid-air, clapping her hands rapidly.

"Tropius, return" Winona said. "Alright, you did good against that one, lets see how you do against this one, Pelipper" Pelipper was an odd choice for Winona. For a woman who trained interesting pokemon, Pelipper was so bland. "Ice beam"

"Sharon, rock throw" Sharon tossed rocks at the Pelipper, who froze them while they flew through the air. It then tried to hit Sharon, who avoided it by swooping down low. Sharon then swooped up, trying to grab it by its stomach.

"Again" Pelipper hit Sharon with an ice beam on her back, as she grabbed onto the bird. Her goggled eyes went wide, and her wings froze. Sharon fell right out of the sky, and hit the dirt headfirst. She twitched once, and that was that.

"Great job Sharon, return" Michael clipped her pokeball back, before unclipping another ball. "Alright Flash, your up now" Flash appeared on the field, completely and absolutely calm. Flash was the perfect pick, Pelipper was quadruple weak, easy victory. "Thunder bolt Flash".

"Agility" Pelipper jumped all over the place at rapid speed, managing to avoid each one of Flash's thunderbolts. It finally stopped behind Flash, and shot him with a water gun, soaking Flash all over.

"Thunder wave Flash" Best to make sure that the stupid bird couldn't use agility again. Flash hit the Pelipper with a weak stream of electricity, causing it to surge all over the bird. Pelipper cracked with sparks, right as all of its muscles went stiff.

"Now, thunder bolt" This time Flash didn't miss. Electricity completely surrounded the bird, and knocked it out cold. We were almost to victory, only two more pokemon to go. Winona withdrew the Pelipper, grinning.

"You're doing good" Winona said, "But this isn't over yet. Skarmory come out now" The metallic bird appeared on the field with a loud screech. Flash grinned, more then ready to take it down. "Skarmory, spikes"

"Shit" I whispered. Skarmory puked little spikes all over the field, automatically limiting the area to Flash could move. More specifically, he couldn't move at all with out cutting the fuck out of his feet. Skarmory then flew back to the very edge of the field, out of Flash's line of fire.

"Discharge Flash" This was Flash's widest reaching attack, one with the best chance to hit Skarmory. Electricity shot off of Flash in all directions, hitting every inch of the field. Skarmory tried to fly up, but it hit her on the chest and knocked her onto the field. No paralysis, no pain from the spikes, but at least it was a start. "Now, thunder bolt" Flash fired at Skarmory, who was able to avoid the attack with relative ease.

"Skarmory, air slash" Skarmory swooped down, and hit Flash across the chest. It wasn't a damaging attack physically, but mentally it was crippling. Just a reminder, Skarmory could move, and we could not.

"I've got to win" I heard Flash say, as he rushed into the spiked field. Blood flowed from between the digits on his feet, but he didn't notice. Flash was crackling with electricity, and cringing with pain.

"Flash, thunder!" A torrent of electricity shot out of Flash's body, enough to blanket the entire field. Thunder is usually a very unreliable attack, but today it was fueled by the angry of a normally altruistic Ampharos. It hit the Skarmory, hard enough to hide it from my field of vision.

"Yes! We did" The thunder attack ended, but Skarmory was still fluttering in the air, "You've got to be fucking kidding me"

"I almost did it" Flash said, "Who ever comes next will do it. I guess that's good enough" Flash collapsed backwards, bloody and beaten. Michael recalled Flash, smiling as he did.

"You did great" Michael whispered, before reclining the ball. "Bane, you're next" By now, the spikes on the field had dissolved completely, and Bane was able to walk onto the field with out having to worry. Skarmory was panting, and its metal feathers were tarnished.

"Skarmory, air slash" Skarmory nodded, and fluttered towards Bane. It really was embarrassing how slow the metal bird was going. As it finally got near, Bane jumped up, and used brick break on the bird's back. Skarmory hit the ground like meteor, leaving a small crater.

"Skarmory, return" Winona grinned. "One left, but this is the hardest of them all, Altaria now" The Altaria appeared on the field in a radiant explosion. It was almost completely silent, all I could hear from it was the beating of its heart.

"Bane, force palm" Bane rushed at Altaria, hoping to paralyze it with force palm. Altaria pulled its head back, and Bane struck it across the neck. It didn't appear to paralyze the giant bird, which promptly slammed into Bane using peck.

Bane was tossed straight back, flipping six times before hitting a large rock and stopping. He pulled himself up slowly, shaking off the damage.

"I'm okay, I can do this" I heard Bane whisper. He was swaying back and forth as he stood. Bane was almost out, with only one hit.

"Drain punch Bane" Bane's tiny fist glowed pink, as he charged at Altaria. He jumped and hit it in the side of the face. Altaria then responded with an ariel ace, which finished Bane off.

Michael recalled Bane, down to his last pokemon. He unclipped Titan's pokeball, and released the Lairon on the field. "Okay Titan, it's up to you. No pressure" Do people honestly think when they say things like that?!

"Stone edge Titan"

"Gust" Titan pulled a sharp edged rock out of the ground, and slung it at Altaria. Altaria began to slowly flap its wings. They swept up such a gust though, that the rock was tossed straight back and hit him in the skull. Luckily his skull was made of tin, so no real damage.

"Rock slide Titan" Titan started to throw a torrent of rocks at Altaria, who smashed them into gravel by pecking them. Altaria hadn't even moved yet, and it had barely taken any damage.

"Altaria, earthquake" Oh fuck. The ground started to shake, and it tossed Titan all about. Titan clenched his eyes shut, until the attack finally ended. Slowly, he stood up again, but he was barely hanging on.

"Titan, double edge" Titan rushed at Altaria, and slammed into it. He then collapsed in front of Altaria, who had started to bleed from a small cut on its head. Titan sadly, was done for, and we had lost.

Fuck.


	86. Son Rising

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXXXVI: Son Rising**

It actually began as an innocent enough question. I didn't think their was a story behind it, and if I had known I would not have asked.

Every one automatically assumes I want to hear their life story. In all honesty, I don't mind if they tell me, I just wish they would ask if I wanted to hear it.

Bane's story was different. I had wanted to hear it. Even if I didn't hear it all.

* * *

When you loose a second battle to a gym leader, you have to wait a week to try again. The theory is that you'll spend the week training, but the truth is most people end up pissed off, and spend the week stewing over their misery. For Michael though, it was a great time to train.

All fucking daylong.

I suspected to a certain degree that Michael was training so much just to avoid going back to the vibrating room, but I couldn't prove it. Now after three days, every muscle in my body ached. I needed a good nights sleep.

"I'm going to kill my self again" I groaned. Above me the tapping was even louder then usual, driving me insane. Shu was asleep beside me, he was mumbling in his sleep. Whimpering was more like it, reminded me of what Rush did some times. What fucked him up so badly?

Michael, Louis, and Lisa were sprawled out across the floor of the room. Louis was drinking like a fish, his eyes glassed over. Lisa had earplugs, and was writing, ignoring the rest of us. Michael had Lisa's gun out, staring at the ceiling.

"If I shot all of them" He mumbled, "They wouldn't arrest me. They might actually give me a medal if I did it"

"Don't even think about it" I heard Lisa say, "That's a Sig P245, not enough rounds to take all of them"

"I thought you had a Magnum revolver"

"Traded it in for this one" She grinned, "This ones sleeker, more stopping power, still no safety though. Not that I need one, if I'm firing, I'm aiming to kill"

By now all of us were exhausted. I know what you're thinking, why not just put on earplugs? Unless you've ever tried to sleep with earplugs, you can't know how hard it is. Feels like their are corks in your ears, and is as painful as being hit in the knee with a bat.

Bane jumped up on the bed beside me. His eyes were ruby red and swollen. Granted, his eyes were always red, but now they looked empty, and sleep deprived. I hadn't even heard him sing in days. It was at that moment I chose to ask a stupid question.

"Why don't you dance?" Bane looked at me like I was an idiot.

"I don't like to dance" He said.

"Of course you do, you said you were a nine year old dancing prodigy before you died. Why the hell would you not like dancing" Bane mumbled something. "What did you say?"

"I don't want to tell you!" Bane snarled, his eyes going wild.

"Yeah, well now I want to know" I should have just let it drop, and I would have usually, except I was tired and bitter.

"I'm not going to tell you!" Bane exclaimed. I jumped up, and looked down at the enraged Riolu.

"Tell me now Bane" He gritted his teeth.

"I'm not telling you!" Bane screamed. He jumped up punched me across the face, in the muzzle, hard enough to knock me on my ass. "Oh shit Angel" Being a dark-type, that didn't just hurt, it really fucking hurt. I felt a drop of blood drip out of my muzzle, fucking bastard.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I screamed. My anger washed away, because Bane had begun to tear up! What the hell was going on?

"I'm sorry Angel" Bane said, sniffling, "I'm just, I don't like to talk about it" He sighed. "Maybe it's time though that I talk about it..."

"If you don't want to, you shouldn't" I said, "If you think it would help though" I was going to tell him to go talk to Flash, who was currently lying under the bed.

"I actually think it would" Bane said, beginning to tell his story. Crap.

**Sinnoh, Seven Years Ago**

Hearthome City is a strange place. The whole city is set in a time warp, as if it were built about seventy years ago. Sinnoh as a region likes to think its more artsy and more dignified then all of the other regions. Hearthome City was the crown jewel in that regard, often rivaling Jubilife City for the most famous and dignified city in Hoenn. Dignity, always dignity.

"Timothy, get your ass out here" A voice screamed at me. So much fucking dignity.

"Bite me" I mumbled, "I'll be there in a second" I went back to changing into my costume.

December in Sinnoh is usually a beautiful time, unless you're a dancer. When you're a dancer, you're always practicing, practicing all day until you go home and collapse. In my case, until you went back to the hotel and collapse.

I was a member of the Sinnoh Youth Ballet Association. We were the best young dancers (under thirteen) in Sinnoh; we toured and preformed nationally. My name was Timothy McVeigh; yes I shared the same as the infamous bomber. My parents didn't know what the name meant, I only found out after I did an Internet search on it. My parents didn't know what color my eyes were.

My parents didn't care about me. I couldn't prove it, but I suspected it. Their are some things you just know, and I could tell that my parents looked at me as an ATM machine. I was the best dancer in the SYBA, so I made a fare amount of money. Enough for my piece of shit parents to steal and live off of.

The only condition to them getting my money was they had to follow me to where ever I was performing, it was an SYBA rule. Believe me, I heard about how much they hated this, they told me. Every freaking night they told me how much they hated being there.

I could just feel the love some times.

Tonight I would be dancing in The Nutcracker, the most cliched of all December ballets. I was "lucky" enough to be playing the central role; a nine-year-old dressed up as a Nutcracker. It's even more silly looking then you could imagine.

Due to cheapness of the SYBA, I had to put on all of my costumes and shit. Luckily I had mastered putting them on, and I was ready to go out. I opened to door, only to have a hand grab my collar.

"It's about time," Ms. Orange said. Ms. Orange organized all of our performances, smoked four packs a day, and had a name like something you drank for breakfast. The woman was a bitch, but a bitch that had at one time cared about dance, and had been a dancer herself. This was five hundred smokes, two failed marriages, and one nasty case of emphysema ago.

"I told you I was almost ready" I said.

"It's almost time for you to go on," Ms. Orange said, stale smoke wafting around me and causing me to cough.

"No it isn't, it's still the first act. My character is still a hunk of wood"

"Well get ready anyways," Ms. Orange said, dragging me by my collar. I still ended up waiting for almost a half an hour, at least I think it was, time is relative when you're nine.

When it was time to go out though, I was ready. The lights were bright, and burned into my skin. The set was cheap, the costumes were cheap, and the building where we preformed was cheap. The faces of the people who watched were all black, the light hid them from my field of vision. It didn't matter though, for in those few hours when I was on stage, I was truly alive.

Everyone has that one thing that makes them feel alive, one activity. Bike riding, swimming, pokemon battling, their are hundreds of different activities. For me, it was dancing, all of my limbs alive with energy. I never felt my feet on the ground, never felt my self move. I just felt energy, flowing through my entire body.

Dance was my love, I had fallen in love before I was ten years old. When you're dancing, you're body is separate from your mind, doing every thing on its own with no direction or thought required. My body was muscular, and I was in better shape then I currently am.

_I could do this forever..._

* * *

Hearthome is beautiful at night, especially after its rained with a full moon. The architecture is all gothic, I knew that when I was only nine (I was smart). When all of the buildings are wet, the moonlight reflected off of them, giving the city a pale outline. It was beautiful, simply beautiful.

"That dance sucked" My mom said.

"It wasn't a dance" I said, "A dance involves boys and girls dancing. That was a ballet, where you watch people dance and perform"

"Well you fucking sucked" I was in the back seat of my parents SUV. The two of them were driving about twenty over the speed limit, but I didn't notice.

"Why did it suck" My mother groaned when I asked the question.

"I can not deal with this kid" She moaned, "He's making my aura all cloudy. Shane, you deal with him"

"How can you tell if your aura is cloudy?" I mumbled.

"Kid, it sucked because it was boring" My dad said, "It sucked because it was long, it sucked because you looked like a fucking fruit in fucking tights" I suspected that my parents didn't love me. What do you think?

"It's not boring" I said, "It's the most famous ballet written of all time, written by Tchaikovsky himself!"

"Tcha who? Who the hell is that?" My dad cried.

"Bad energy go away" My mother chanted, "Hhhhhhuuuuuummmmm! Hhhhhhuuuuuummmmm! Bad energy in the form of the small demonn, leave us for ever. Hhhhhhuuuuuummmmm! Hhhhhhuuuuuummmmm!" My dad began to stroke his temple, annoyed by the chanting of my mother.

"Will you shut your fucking trap?" My father asked.

"Hhhhhhuuuuuummmmm! Hhhhhhuuuuuummmmm!"

"Shut up!" My father screamed. He reached over and stated punching her in the shoulder. "Shut up, shut your fucking mouth, shut your fucking fat-ass mouth"

"Uh, guys?" Our SUV sped through a stop sign that my parents didn't notice. They didn't even notice the pair of head lights until they t-boned the back half of the side of our car.

Lights, a string of lights running above my head. I was strapped to something I think, I could feel it running across my chest and my arms. I could feel something around my head, I don't know what it was. What I couldn't feel were my legs, and that might not have been a bad thing. The rest of my body felt broken, smashed to bits and pieces.

* * *

I blacked out after that, mostly from the pain. When I woke up again, I was in a bed, and my parents were standing above me.

"Augh!" My parents were nursing a few cuts, my mother also had a stitched up nose. Otherwise they looked fine, and very pissed.

"Great, the kids awake" My mom said.

"We got into an accident thanks to you kid" My dad said, "I got my face half cut to hell, do you know what will happen to me if these scar?!" He pointed to the one small cut on the tip of his nose. "My looks will be ruined! My looks are all I have!"

"Shut up about your fucking looks" My mom growled, "My chakra is going to be thrown off for the rest of the week"

"Guys"

"You don't even know what any of those words mean!" My dad cried, "You just say them because you think they make you sound smart"

"Guys"

"At least I sound smart! Better to sound smart and be dumb, then sound dumb and be dumb"

"Guys!" I screamed.

"What?!" I began to tear up.

"I-I can't feel my legs"

* * *

Smart or not, their were still some things I did not understand. Spine broken, paralyzed from the waist down, never going to walk again. The main thing I didn't understand was why.

Why me? I was the only good person in that SUV, and I was the only one of us injured. My love, my life, taken away from me in an instant.

"I'm so sorry for your loss" The doctor said to my father. He said a few more things to them before leaving. My dad turned back to my mom, both of them looking ill.

"What do we do?" I heard my mom whisper, "They won't let him dance if he can't walk, what the fuck are we supposed to do?"

"I've got an idea" He replied, "But not in front of the idkay"

"I can hear you!" I screamed. They looked down at me.

"This is a private conversation" My dad said, "How dare you listen in"

"Come on, will talk in the hall" The two of them left me in my room, and walked out. I never saw the two of them again.

* * *

I don't remember my doctor's name. I remember he was bald, and had a huge liver spot on his forehead. His teeth were yellow, and his breath reeked of garlic.

"I'm sorry Timothy" Doctor Condescending said, "But I'm having trouble finding your parents. I'm sure they're somewhere"

"No" I said, "They're not"

"If they're not at the hospital, they'll be back soon"

"No they wont" I said, tearing up, "They're going as far from here as they fucking can"

"Their is no need for that kind of language"

"What are you talking about?!" I cried, "My parents abandoned me, their is" My heart began to race. My eyes went wide, and I gulped for air. The machines beside me began to beep like crazy.

"Shit he's crashing" The doctor cried. I didn't hear anything else he said, my heart was beating to fast. All I could hear was my heart beating, I couldn't even feel the pain in my body. I closed my eyes...

...Which made all of the pain go away. All of it, all of the aches in my body vanished. What was stranger was I could feel my legs, which wasn't possible.

"It's very possible" A booming voice said.

_Did you hear what I thought?_

"Of course I did" The voice laughed, "That's one of my abilities" I opened my eyes to see a giant demonic/serpent thing floating there. The legendary Griatina.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhh!" I screamed. I screamed so long and loud, I should have run out of breath. "Why didn't I run out of breath?"

"Uh, because you're dead?"

"Dead?"

"Yep"

"Not possible, out of the question. Have to be alive" I said, "If I die, how can I outlive my parents?"

"You didn't" The legendary said, "You're dead as a doornail, laying on a morgue slab" Right then I realized he was right.

"No! You're lying!" I screamed. Gritina sighed.

"You know, you humans are so skeptical. You think you're masters of the world, even when your young. It's so a shock when you loose control" The legendary floated an inch in front of me. I could feel its frozen breath on my body. "Usually, I would be escorting you to one of the spheres of paradise, but I'm not"

"Oh fuck, I'm going to hell aren't I?!"

"No" Griatina said, "Nothing like that. What I meant was that I'm going to take you somewhere else"

"Where?" I asked. It grinned, as best the legendary could.

"Come with me" Suddenly, we were no longer floating in the void. We were floating above a small altar, made up of twigs and stones. What it was an altar for I had no idea, but I could see a pokemon egg on it. A Lucario was praying in front of it for some reason.

"She's praying to Latias" Griatina said, "For a child. None of her eggs have survived thus far, and this one is destined to follow them. That is, unless a new soul can fill the void. Your soul Timothy" I gulped.

"You, you mean be reborn, as a Riolu?" I asked. I was confused, I didn't understand it. Alive, again? As a pokemon?

"You've got five seconds to decide" Griatina said, "I'd give you longer, but the ferrymon of the dead is busy"

_She would love me_

"I'll do it" I said.

"Good" Griatina said, "You're going to enjoy this, at least I think you will" Griatina then slammed into me with his body, knocking me into and through the egg. I closed my eyes and braced for impact.

When I opened my eyes, I was blind. Their was goo all around me, egg goo. Crap, inside of the egg.

"Come on little one" A sweet voice whispered, "Come on hatch! You have to hatch! Come on" I moved my small arm inside the egg, flexing the tiny digits.

_Here goes nothing_

I punched the egg shell, hard.

* * *

"What happened next?" I asked Bane. He sighed, so tired of talking.

"I don't know if I want you to know" Bane said, "I'm feeling kind of depressed" I stood up, and licked him across the nose.

"Please?" Bane sighed.

"Alright, lets continue"


	87. Son Setting

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXXXVII: Son Setting**

"Okay" I said, "You were a young dancing boy in Sinnoh, who got paralyzed because of your dip shit parents. After which, your parents stole all of the money you earned, you died of....something, and you were brought back to life as a Riolu. Anything I missed?" Bane shook his head sadly.

"Nope, that's pretty much it. My life was a disaster, the end" Bane smiled sadly, "Theirs actually a lot of story left though"

"I assume how you ended up with us?" I asked.

"Oh, theirs seven years worth of story there."

"I've got a question" I said, "Riolu evolve through happiness. In seven years since you were reborn, you've not been happy enough to evolve? Like, at all?" Bane shook his head sadly.

"It was...difficult for me to live with my new mother. Let me try to explain...."

* * *

I didn't live with a large group of Lucario. My mother once had, with my father, but didn't live with them any more. Rather, when I was reborn we lived in an anti-human pokemon village.

The village was located in northern Hoenn, in a valley with mountains on all sides. The village was filled with pokemon who either did not like humans, were scared of them, or who had been captured then released. My mother lived there because...I don't know. She never did tell me.

I know what you're thinking, a reborn human sent to live in an anti-human, pokemon village. The legendaries are bastards, they really, truly are. Well, a year after I had hatched, I still hadn't told anyone. Well, my mother knew, but because she had been told by Latias. Again, just trying to dick around with my life.

My mother and I lived in a cave, carved out of a rock wall. My mother had actually carved it out with her own steel paws. She told me to this a few weeks after my rebirth, much to my amazement. Is it strange that I actually think of both of my pokemon parents as more actual parents, then my human ones? I don't know, I guess you can decide.

My mother was the priestess at the temple of Latios and Latias. Priestess and temple might be a bit of an over statement. Our temple was a slightly larger cave, with a chalk drawing of Latios and Latias, and a very small altar. My mothers job was to listen to the pleas of the pokemon in the village, plead to Latias and Latios for help, and watch as the two of them ignored her.

The only time my mother had ever been truly blessed was with my birth. You can bet she told every pokemon in our village about it, just not about a few little things. Such as my first life.

The day I want to tell you about took place a year after I had been reborn. While I had interacted with the village, not very much. Mostly because of my mothers rational fear.

"They'll kick you out of the village" My mother whispered in my ear, while bathing me (I'll not describe that). "They'll take you away from me, I can't have that. I love you, my dear sweet Bane"

Bane. I'd been given that name Bane, because it had been the nickname they called my mother behind her back. So many dead unborn children, she was known as the bane of birth, the bane of existence.

I'm getting off topic though. The day I want to tell you about was the day after my mother finally gave me permission to leave our home and go through the village on my own. It had taken lots of begging on my part, and I had been forced to rehearse what I would say if someone asked if I had been human (who the hell would ask that?).

* * *

I woke up early that morning, uncurling from a ball on the rock floor. I was careful not to yawn, making sure that I didn't make any noise. Best not to wake my mother, it might make her change her mind.

Trying to tip toe on those tiny Riolu paws of mine are a fucking nightmare. Learning to rewalk on four legs isn't nearly as hard as relearning to walk on altered two legs. Mostly because it takes longer to teach your body it no longer works the same way as it did before.

I got to the entrance of our cave, the sun just barely peaking above the mountains. Every thing was bathed in a pale purple glow, and the valley looked just beautiful. The mounds, caves, and vegetation all in shades of purple and violet, a sight few humans get to see.

"Be careful out there" My mother chimed up. I turned, and looked back at her. Her head was up, and she was smiling kindly at me. "Remember, you can walk through the trees, and the paths on the mountains, but not past the mountains, and not to far out of the valley" I paused.

"When did you wake up?"

"I didn't sleep at all last night Bane" I could hear her heart beat, quick and heavy. She was nervous that I might let something out, something bad. "Just be careful" I sighed.

"I will Momma, I will" The valley was quiet, and their were only a few pokemon out and about. All of the grass-types were asleep, the lack of sun light was because of that. The water-types were awake, but they all lived in the lake that ran through the center of our valley. It was completely calm, quiet, and still.

At least I thought it was. You see, I couldn't hear the female Riolu running up behind me, nor could I hear her jump at me. I didn't notice her at all until she slammed into me, and knocked me on my chest.

"Get off of me!" I cried, bucking the Riolu off. I flipped around, able to get a good view of the giggling female.

_Get a grip Bane, it's only some creepy girl, trying desperately to hug you._

"Uh, hi?" She giggled again.

"Hi" Now, in my village their was one other family of Lucario. They were the respected warriors/defenders of our village, unlike my mother who was just the priestess. I had never interacted with them, the rest of the pokemon in the village weren't allowed to talk to them. In fact, they expected all of us to bow when they walked by.

If I didn't know any better, I would have thought they were a little arrogant.

"You're going to be my mate" The Riolu said, before giggling again. Admittedly she was cute (yes, I can think a pokemon is cute), but I didn't know who she was.

"A-a-aren't we going a little fast for that?" I asked, slightly stunned. _Dang this girl is moving fast._

The female then decided to latch onto me again, in such a tight hug that I turned yellow (when a Riolu looses air, that's what color they turn, don't ask). I tired to wriggle my way out, but a reborn human is no match for the genuine thing.

"Not yet you silly" The girl said, smiling as only a Riolu can.

"W-why me?" I asked, attempting to push her off of me. She instead kissed my navy paws. The sad part is, most humans would pay for a girl like this, as long as she wasn't a slut. I didn't want her though, and I really wanted her to let go!

"You've been blessed by the gods" The female said, still hugging me. "You've been blessed, so I claim you as my own"

"I have?" I asked, surprised.

"Of course silly, your mother was a dead baby maker" I frowned at this. "Your birth was a blessing from them" By now I was annoyed, nauseated, and starting to black out from air loss. I looked over her shoulder.

"Look, a Caterpie doing the Lindy Hop!" That got the Riolu's attention long enough for me to break free"

"What's a Lindy Hop?" She pretty quickly noticed I was gone, and took off after me. I was walking up a hill now, towards the tree lined paths that looped around and over the mountains surrounding our valley. Despite the fact I had a twenty foot head start and was headed up hill, she still managed to jump on me.

"Damn it!" I cried, falling down. She was, once again, hugging and giggling. Of course, what else? "What's your name?"

"Aura" The Riolu said cutely. The name was fitting, due to the whole Riolu/Lucario aura thing. At the same time though, it was about the most generic name for a female Riolu/Lucario. "You are Bane, and you're going to be my mate"

"I don't want to be your mate!" I exclaimed.

"To bad" Aura exclaimed, before sucking on my ear. Okay, now it was just starting to get weird. I didn't know if she wanted to mate with me, or eat me for dinner. Possibly a combination of the two.

"Uh, could you let go?"

"And give you the chance to get away?" She giggled again. "No thanks mate" Now Aura moved onto nibbling the sides of my face. I wasn't sure what would happen then, but in hindsight I have a pretty good idea.

"Okay" I said. "Then, you wanna play a game?" Aura stopped nibbling, and her eyes went wide as dinner plates.

"I love games!" Aura exclaimed, jumping off of me.

"Shocking" I said sarcastically. "Let's play hide and seek"

"How do we do that"

"Well, I go and hide" I had to hide the urge to giggle evilly, "And you come and find me, but you have to count to ten thousand, kay?"

"Can do" She closed her eyes, and I took off like a shot. I made it ten feet up to the first tree, only to hear Aura shout "Ready!"

I also realized in hind sight, Aura couldn't count to ten thousand.

Having to choose between mating with the psycho Riolu, and living in a tree for possibly the rest of my life, I scrambled up the tree as fast as I could. "Bane, come out! Come on Bane, you know you want to"

"I'd rather be boiled in oil" I whispered. Sitting on a tree branch, I leaned against the trunk, closed my eyes, and went to sleep.

* * *

An hour later I woke up again. I yawned, and stood up, happy to see no psycho Aura. The sun was now shining over the mountains, and the forest looked beautiful.

"This will be a good day" I said, taking one step foreword. I forgot I was in a tree, and fell straight to the ground, knocked out cold.

When I opened my eyes, it was now dark and the moon was in the sky. My head hurt badly, as bad as after my car accident. I slowly pulled myself up, and started to rub my aching skull.

"Great, it's night" I whispered, "Mom's going to kill me" Like an idiot, I ran foreword, further into the woods. Shockingly enough, instead of getting out, I just got even more lost.

"Tree, tree. There's the...nope, just another tree"

"Lost, are we little one?" A new voice, female. It was whispery, and was purring with every word. I looked up, to see a black figure hanging from the wood of a tree. It was looking at me like I was a specimen in a jar.

"Who are you?" I asked. She jumped down and landed in front of me, bathed in pale moon light. It reflected off of her black fur, and long, razor sharp claws. "Oh, a Sneasle" For some reason, the Sneasle was shocked by me saying this.

"Oh a Sneasle?" She asked, "Not die you dark beast? Or, is this the end for you?"

"Who asks those things?" I asked. She was shocked that I was still talking to her, odd. "You okay"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine" She said. "You lost"

"Kind of. I, well I fell out of a tree earlier today" I said.

"Then you were knocked out, and only just woke up?"

"Yep"

"What a loser" Such a kind thing to say.

"You know, I don't need your opinions" I said, pushing her out of the way. "I'll find my own way out of here"

"Not by going that way you wont" I stopped.

"Excuse me?" She pointed with her long, pointed claw in the other direction.

"You want to go that way. That's where your village is. The other direction just leads up the mountain. I'd call you a loser again, for not noticing that the hill slopes up, but I think that speaks for its self"

"Thanks" I exclaimed, turning around. "Ms.?"

"Shade" The Sneasle said. "Also, thank you"

"For what?" I asked, but Shade was gone. Odd.

* * *

WHAM! Bane paused, due to the loud (even for the tap dancers) sound coming from above us. This even got Lisa's attention, as she pulled the ear plugs out of her ears.

"Alright" She said, standing up, "This has to stop" Grabbing her gun, Lisa hobbled over to, and up the stairs to the next room.

"You might want to get ready to call the police Lou" Michael whispered. Louis was to dumbstruck by what had just happened, or what was about to happen.

We heard screaming, then gunshots, eight of them. More yelling, and the sound of wood breaking. Then Lisa, hobbling back down the stairs without her cane.

"What the hell happened?" Michael cried, jumping up. He helped Lisa hobble over to the bed, both me and Bane having to jump out of the way.

"It started nicely" Lisa said. "I threatened to blow their brains out through the back of their skulls, nothing unusual. The thing is, my gun was loaded with blanks, and they seemed to know that! The knocked me on my ass, fired all of the rounds out of my gun, then broke my cane in two! They threatened to toss me out of the hotel window, fucking tap dancers"

"So we're not going to get any peace?" Michael asked.

"Of course not" I turned await from Lisa, and returned my attention to Bane.

"Tell me the rest of the story?" He sighed.

"Later" I nodded. "Thanks Angel"

I'd love to tell you the rest of Bane's story my dear listener, but the truth is, I never heard all of it. I forgot to ask Bane again, and that might not have been the worst thing in the world, seeing how much pain Bane was in.

Just goes to show you, you never truly can no someone.


	88. Tin Skulled Warrior

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXXXVIII: Tin Skulled Warrior**

"Pecha will rule all! Pecha will stand before the humans, who will bow down before the New Chu Order. Pecha will destroy them, over throw their governments. All their base are belong to Pecha!"

"Pecha, shut the fuck up" I snarled. I was on the ground, trying to sleep. It was our last day of training, and I had just finished getting my ass kicked by L3, who Lisa was using. Sadly, since I didn't have a ball I had to sleep next to Pecha, who was outlining her plans to the other members of the stupid Chu order. Shu was ignoring her, Streak was asleep, Wisp was...Wisp, and Nel was to scared to ignore her.

"Pecha, how are you planning to take over the world?" Flash asked this question. He was also beside me, and he had yet to battle. I think he found the little psychopath amusing.

"Pecha will raise up an army!" Pecha said, "The Chu will capture the military bases and missile silos of the human armies. Pecha will then overthrow the humans and take over the world! New Chu Order! New Chu Order!" She looked at Flash and pointed. "Pecha demands that you join us, and Pecha's New Chu Order!"

"Why the hell do you refer to yourself in the third person?" I asked. The little fuckball ignored the question, and continued ranting. I decided to ignore it, and return to the training session.

Michael had just released Titan onto the field, and the tin perv had yet to attack. He was staring at L3, breathing heavily, looking determined for some reason. L3 had yet to look down at him. In fact, L3 didn't appear to be looking at anything, her eyes were just pointed at something.

"Titan, rock throw"

"L3 hammer arm" Titan started to pull large rocks out of the rock free ground, and tossed them despite not having hands to hold them. L3 simple smashed them, turning them into gravel, and was pretty much unaffected.

This was far from the end of the world though. Truant forced L3 to not attack for one minute after doing an attack. Michael ordered a head butted, and Titan ran straight at the Slaking, head lowered. He ran as fast as his stone legs could carry him, and jumped into the air. He slammed into her chest with so much force that it would have broken just about any other pokemon.

L3 though was not most pokemon. Being a giant combination of fat and muscle, L3 brushed the attack off like it was nothing. In fact, she seemed more bored then usual.

"Hammer Arm again" L3 raised her arm as thick as an arm, and brought it down hard on Titan. This attack is so damaging to Lairon, it could have taken him down with just that blow, but Titan wouldn't go down. As L3 tried to attack again, Titan ran backwards, and L3 hit the ground.

With out being ordered, Titan started using rock throw again, this time aiming the rocks at L3's head. The rocks smashed, coating L3 and Lisa in a hail of gravel. L3 was unaffected, but Lisa ended up with a small cut across her forehead.

"I gotta stop" She called out to Michael.

"Eh, now's as good a time as any, we might as well eat lunch" As they began to prepare food for themselves and us, I watched Titan. He seemed irritated, mumbling under his breath, although what he was mumbling is anyone's guess. I then saw him pull a rock out of the ground, and smash it over his own head.

"What the fuck?" I mumbled.

"Here you go Angel" Michael said, putting down a bowl of pokefood. I nudged it with my snout, and used all of my energy not to throw up. Some foods grow on you over time, but generic pokechow isn't one of them. I sometimes think I'd rather have Not Milotic kill me then eat this shit.

Trish fluttered down beside me as I ate. She was still adjusting to being a member of our less then motley crew. I think she was adjusting, but I didn't really care.

"What's wrong with Titan?" I asked.

"Hello to you to Angela" Trish said, "I'm doing fine, thanks for asking"

"What's wrong with Titan?"

"You really have a one track mind" Trish said. "Titan's upset"

"So? Why doesn't he just fuck Sharon like he would any other time he's upset? Right before the group nearly broke apart, I saw the two of them going at it like rabbits behind a rock!" Trish went wide eyed. "What?"

"Why were you watching?!"

"I've not gotten laid in months" I said, "Take a wild guess"

"You were having sex, when you were human?"

"Please, I was having it when I was ten!" I said, "But that's irrelevant. Can you tell me why Titan's upset?"

"I dunno, take a look around, what do you see?" I looked around at our group. I shrugged.

"Okay, what do I see?"

"L3 is a Slaking" Trish said, "Sharon is a Flygon, Shu is a Mightyena, Flash is an Ampharos, Enfer is an Arcanine, I don't evolve, and you're an Umbreon. Now what do you see?"

"A bunch of pokemon who have evolved as high as they can go" I said.

"Now, think back to the first gym battle, what happened?"

"Titan attacked that stupid dragon with all his might, and got knocked out with one attack"

"Second gym battle?"

"Knocked out after two attacks, by the other really annoying dragon. Speaking of which, we need to focus more on attacking that Altaria then"

"ANGELA!" Trish cried, "You're loosing focus. You asked why Titan was upset, I'm telling you what Flash and me observed. Titan wants to evolve, he wants to be an Aggron so badly it's driving him up the wall. That first loss embarrassed him, didn't you notice?"

"Of course not!" I said. "Why would I have?" Okay, that was a stupid thing to say, but I was so focused on defeating Winona, I didn't care. "We need to win this next gym battle, I don't care if Titan's feelings are hurt"

"Why is this particular gym so much more important then the last one?" Trish asked, "It's not even the last one you're going to, you've still got two more gyms after that!"

"It's because its Fortree city gym! This is the gym! A serious house on serious earth, the last three champions of Hoenn won at this gym! I want to be champion!"

"You're an Umbreon" Trish pointed out.

"...I'm aware of my species! I'm also aware we can't win if Titan's being a baby"

"Well get him to evolve" Trish said, "Or shut up about it. My advice to you" Trish looked me up and down. "You look exhausted, how are you holding up?"

"Even if I hadn't gotten whipped in training I would be tired" I said. "It's the damn tap dancers. Tonight is, ironically, the last night they're practicing. Does it make it any less annoying to be in that room? Of course not!" I yawned. "Lisa should have just fired through the floor, and tired to hit people as they moved around"

"What are your plans for tomorrow"

"Not getting knocked out"

"Ya don't say" Trish said sarcastically, "What are your battle plans?"

"My ideal match up is the damn Noctowl, seeing as I'm not affected by its psychic powers"

"Yeah, but you'll get knocked out by her Dragonite, or the god of flying-types" Trish said. I paused, and looked at her.

"The god of flying-types? You don't mean her Skarmory do you?"

"I might be a tad biased to Skarmory" Trish said.

"Next time be biased to a pokemon that doesn't suck" I said. Trish responded by pecking me between the eyes. "Not funny"

"Then why am I smiling?" She asked, grinning. Bitch.

"You're a Skarmory" I said, "How would you defeat yourself" Trish shrugged (as best you can without shoulders).

"Well, I would use a fire-type"

"Michael refuses to borrow Enfer"

"If he did we could be out of here" Trish said, "After that I'd go with electric, seeing as that's the only other thing I'm weak against"

"Flash had a bitch of a time taking down that Skarmory the first time"

"That's because Skarmory are awesome" I fired a shadow ball at her.

* * *

All to soon we were done with lunch and back to training. By now the sun was at its highest, and it was hotter then the center of hell. I was exhausted due to lack of sleep, getting my ass kicked, and being a dark-type outside with no shade. Shu was unaffected because he was albino, lucky asshole, but I kept feeling like I was going to pass out.

Titan was dirty, dented, and panting. Dex was on his back, sound asleep. He had been on Louis's head when Titan was in the ball, but now he was with his "father". Titan looked back at him, and smiled sadly. Michael pulled Dex off, and Titan returned his attention to L3.

"Titan, Iron Tail"

"L3 use fling" A glowing tail of energy came out of Titan's back side (where the hell did it come from), and he jumped at L3, swinging the tail. L3 grabbed him by around the chest, and flung him straight down.

Titan smashed into a rock in front of L3, kicking up gravel and dust every where. Slowly he pulled himself up again, shaking broken rock off of him.

"Iron head Titan"

Titan's skull started to glow brighter then the sun. He jumped at L3, this time striking her in the lower abdomen. Titan's skull sunk into her stomach, before bouncing out and onto the ground.

"How the hell?" Michael mumbled.

"L3, hammer arm" Lisa said. By now she was starting to sound like a broken record.

L3 once again raised her arm up, and slammed it onto Titan's skull. Titan fell flat on his ass, and as soon as he pulled himself up L3 hit him again. He stood up again, only to have L3 hit him again, this time knocking Titan on his side.

"Titan, this is the part where you stop" I said. Titan ignored me, shaking dirt and rock off.

"Titan, metal sound then metal claw" A loud screeching noise, like screws being dragged across a chalk board, filled the air. Titan's claws on his forelegs then started to glow. He slashed L3 across the knees, trying to get her to fall down.

"Counter" Lisa said.

This time, L3 started glowing ruby red. Michael told Titan to pull back, but it was to late.

As soon as Titan made contact with the glowing L3, he was tossed straight back, through another rock, and finally rolled to a stop at the base of a tree.

"Okay Titan, that's enough" Michael said, unclipping tin-heads pokeball. The red lazer shot out to withdraw Titan, who blocked it by tossing a rock and knocking the ball out of Michael's hand. "Owe! Titan!"

"Fuck going back!" Titan snarled. His eyes were wide, and their was a crazy look in them. Spit shout out of his mouth when he screamed, and his heart was pounding.

"Titan, you need to rest" As Michael bent down to grab the ball, he narrowly avoided a much larger rock. "Titan stop"

Titan pulled himself back up, stumbling as he did. He finally managed to find his balance, and managed to stand with out falling back over.

"I'm not going back" Titan said, as he slowly walked back to the center of the field. He looked at L3, panting heavily. "I'm not giving up, I refuse to give up. I won't let her beat me, she beat me twice already. It wont fucking happen again"

"You sure you want to stay out?" Michael asked. To him, Titan's whole speech was just pokespeech. Titan nodded, focusing on L3. "Fine, iron head" Titan's skull started to glow white.

He ran at L3, head down....

* * *

The morning of our third battle with Winona was a miserable one. Over night clouds had gathered, and as we got ready, it began to pour rain. All of the wood outside of our hotel had swollen, and was slick as glass. The good news was if we tripped, we would only fall five stories to our deaths.

It might have been a bad idea to build a city in the tree tops.

"You ready for this?" Enfer asked. We were sitting on the bed, staring out the window at the pouring rain. I shrugged.

"I dunno, as ready as I can be I guess. This woman has beaten us twice now" Enfer grinned.

"Winona is also expecting the same team as the last two times. She's going to be very disappointed"

"I was hoping for surprised" I said, now smiling also. "Surprise can be more then enough to win a battle"

"Come on" I heard Michael say, "Lets head out" As we walked out of the hotel, the rain poured across my fur. I looked over at Enfer who was also completely soaked. I knew this hurt her a lot, but she pretended it didn't.

"You're going to do great" Enfer whispered in my giant ears. I sighed. I hoped she was right, but I wasn't sure.

The gym looked like a haven among the soaked city. Inside was the same bitchy receptionist, chewing on a piece of gum the size of a sweat sock. She looked up and laughed at Michael.

"You again, kid haven't you got your ass kicked enough" She asked.

"Michael, do you mind?" Lisa asked.

"Go ahead" Lisa walked over to the woman, leaning on her new (metal) cane. Faster then I could blink, Lisa had grabbed the was of gum out of the receptionists mouth. She then stuck it on her stupid, black hair.

The receptionist started to grab at her hair, before falling on the ground screaming. We walked past this wonderful sight, over to the trainers entrance. Michael stood in front of the door, breathing heavily.

"Let's kick ass" He grabbed the door knob.


	89. Third Battle I

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**LXXXIX: Third Battle I**

By the time you battle Winona, be it the first, second, or third time, no doubt your starter has evolved all the way. Not that it matters, your fucked no matter what you have.

Swampert is the best choice to take into battle with Winona, and by best choice I mean least awful. Swampert can at least learn ice and rock attacks, but he's so damn slow it doesn't matter. Not only that, but if she pulls out her Tropius, you're fucked.

Now Blaziken and Sceptile are equally awful in this battle, in that they're both weak to flying-types. Blaziken has its fire-type attacks to fall back on, unless she pulls out her Pelipper. Of course, since Noctowl uses psychic-type attacks, you're fucked if you use Blaziken against it also.

Sceptile is fast enough to attack first, only to discover its attacks do nothing. I would have taught my Sceptile dragon claw, just in case I ended up using it to battle that damn Altaria. Sceptile can also learn some rock-type attacks, but much like Blaziken, Sceptile is worthless in this battle.

* * *

It was pouring rain when we walked out, heavier then when we had been walking to the gym. It soaked what ever little part of me was dry, soaking me all the way through. Winona was standing on the other side of the field, although the rain hid her from us. All I could see was her dark, still out line.

"Back again?" She called out to us.

"Not leaving until I win" Michael said. "Don't care how many times you kick my ass" Winona laughed at this.

"Same as before Michael, six-on-six. Challenger has the option to select first"

"I forfeit that right" Michael said.

"Fine, Pelipper you're up first!" I could see the outline of the Pelipper on the battlefield. It was flapping furiously against the heavy rain.

"Flash, come on out" Flash appeared on the field, in a bright burst of electricity that lit up the entire field. Michael made a very good choice, Flash's attacks would almost always hit in this weather.

"Flash, thunder bolt"

"Pelipper, straight up into the air" The only way Winona could avoid would be to get high enough up that Flash couldn't manage to hit her Pelipper. The electricity domed upward, and caught Pelipper on the edge of its tail feathers. That was enough, and electricity flowed across Pelipper's body. It began to fall out of the sky. Winona almost didn't seem concerned.

"Ice beam" Winona ordered, as Pelipper almost hit the ground. It opened its mouth, and fired the ice beam straight at Flash.

"Thunder bolt!" Michael cried, as the ice beam hit Flash in the chest. It coated his chest, but didn't completely freeze him. A bad mistake on her part.

Flash's thunder bolt shattered the ice completely, and once again cover the field in electricity. Pelipper started to shake uncontrollably as Flash zapped it, but as soon as he stopped, Pelipper shook its self back to life.

"How the hell is that bitch still standing?!" I screamed.

"Toxic" Winona ordered. Poison spewed out of Pelipper's mouth at Flash.

"Move it Flash" Michael ordered. Flash took off, having to move so fast to avoid the poison, that he didn't have a chance to attack.

"Crap!" Flash cried, when he hit a rock and fell on his ass. The toxin poured over Flash, dying him purple briefly, before returning yellow. Flash stood up, and slowly began to sway back and forth.

"Just great" Michael mumbled.

Flash was poisoned.

"Flash, charge" Michael said. "Next attack the bird is going down"

"Hail" Winona ordered. Flash began to glow bright, drawing electricity. Large chunks of ice started to fall out of the sky, pummeling the Ampharos. Finally, Flash stopped drawing electricity.

"Thunder!" Michael said. Flash literally exploded with electricity, a large column of it spreading out across the field. Pelipper was zapped all across its body, burning its feathers and frying it alive. It hit the ground with a wet thud, out cold.

Flash raised his arms in excitement, only to buckle over in pain. Michael bit his bottom lip, knowing he could do nothing to help his poisoned pokemon. Flash uncurled slowly, but he didn't have much longer to go. Toxic worked fast, and was very deadly, Flash would be out cold in minutes. He was also shaking from how cold he was, we all were.

"Good job" Winona said. "Skarmory, you're up next". The tin bird appeared on the field with a loud screech. It landed on the ground, water pouring over its steel body. Flash by now was swaying back and forth slowly. I assumed he looked ill, but his back was turned to me.

"Flash, thunder bolt" A weak stream of electricity shot out of flash, and even though the rain caused it to spread, it still didn't do much damage.

"Fury attack" Winona ordered. Skarmory flew straight at Flash, pecking him like crazy. It kept jabbing its beak into him, and even as he hit the ground, it kept jabbing. When it finally stopped, Flash was out cold.

"Good job Flash" Michael called, withdrawing the collapsed Ampharos. He clipped Flash's pokeball, and unclipped a new one. "Sharon, you're turn" Sharon appeared on the field in a dazzling light.

"Wet!" She exclaimed. Few pokemon can point out the obvious quit like Sharon. Skarmory flapped into the air in front of Sharon. Their was a determined look on its face, while Sharon was giggling.

"Air slash" Winona ordered.

"Grab it Sharon, then thunder punch"

Skarmory swooped at Sharon, trying to slash her. Over and over again it swooped, and Sharon kept trying to grab.

"Sharon" I screamed, "Skarmory is shiny!" Sharon's goggled eyes went wide. She started to tremble.

"Shiny?" She whispered in a hushed voice. Skarmory swooped at her again. "SHINY!" Sharon grabbed the tin bird in a barrel roll, crashing into the ground. "My shiny" Her fist crackled with electricity, and she slammed it into Skarmorys chest.

"Twister" Winona ordered. Skarmory began to flap its wings rapidly, purple energy waves coming off of its wings. The energy cut Sharon's scales, forcing her to let go of the bird.

"Owe! Painful shiny" Sharon said.

"Double team Sharon" Michael ordered. Doubles of Sharon appeared all over the field, and Skarmory had to spin and fired twisters at them. Several vanished, until only one was left. "Slam" The one remaining Sharon slammed into Skarmorys side, although that might have done just as much damage to Skarmory as it did to her.

"Drill peck" Winona ordered. Skarmorys beak started to spin (how the hell did it do that?), and attempted to nail Sharon in the neck.

Sharon grabbed Skarmory by the sides of its head, but the force of the drill peck forced her backwards. She attempted to flap her wings rapidly to stop it, but all it did was slow the two down.

"Dragon pulse" Sharon opened her mouth and hit Skarmory in the head with a ring of dragon energy, tossing the spinning bird far enough away so that I could no longer see it. I didn't have long to wait, as Skarmorys still spinning beak pierced through the rain.

This time Sharon grabbed Skarmorys beak rather then its head. This caused the Skarmorys body to spin(?), and Sharon flung it straight down.

"Flash cannon" Winona ordered. Light suddenly gathered on Skarmorys steel feathers. It fired all of it, striking Sharon in the lower stomach and caused her to spiral and hit the ground.

"Play!" Sharon exclaimed, lunging and grabbing Skarmory by the head. She slammed its head into the ground. Skarmory bit Sharon's fingers, causing Sharon to let go and let Skarmory escape.

"Rock slide Sharon" A multitude of rocks that came out of no where hit Skarmory, smashing gravel all over the metal bird. The damn thing still refused to go down though, it wasn't even tired.

I was cold by then, so cold that I could no longer feel my paws or my legs. My entire body was numb, and I was having trouble just observing what was going on. Sharon didn't seem to be cold, while she was shaking, it was clearly from excitement.

Michael was so soaked, his clothing must have tripled in weight. He pulled off his bandana and rung it out, soaking me with water.

"Thanks asshole" I snarled, as water poured down between my eyes. Michael was contemplating what was the best course of action.

"Sharon, fire blast" Michael ordered. He had held off on the fire attack for now due to the rain, but enough was enough. Sharon opened her mouth, and fired the largest fire ball she could manage in the situation. Usually it would be a blast in the shape of a human body, but it was just a pitiful round ball.

It still ended up doing its job though, when it struck Skarmory in the head. Skarmory shrieked in rage, its tin head now tarnished.

"Skarmory, sky attack" Skarmory pulled itself tight, glowing with flying-type energy (don't ask). Its limbs went out, and it flew at Sharon, slamming into her with its most powerful attack.

"Grab it and pin it Sharon!" Sharon grabbed a hold of the bird, and flipped over. She flew straight into the ground, driving Skarmory into the dirt. "Flame-thrower" Sharon opened up its mouth and unleashed as large of a torrent of flames as she could. She completely covered Skarmorys head, hiding it from us in an orange glow. Skarmory struggle, and pulled against Sharon, but it was all for not.

Sharon let go, and Skarmory collapsed out cold. That's two for us.

"Great job Sharon" Michael called out, grinning. If I could have seen Winona, she would have been grinning. Skarmory vanished in a red beam of energy.

"Noctowl, come out now" Noctowl appeared in the rain, but with out the loud screech that the Skarmory had given. Its eyes glowed through the wall of rain, making its floating body look very creepy.

"Sharon, rock throw"

"Hypnosis" Noctowls eyes began to glow brighter then the sun, as Sharon lifted a rock over her head. Suddenly, her arms went limp, and the rock ended up hitting her over the head. Sharon slowly descended, finally crumpling in a heap on the ground.

"Sharon, wake up!"

"Zen headbutt" Noctowls head started to glow pinkish purple, and it headbutted Sharon in the face. Sharon barely stirred though, still asleep.

"Air slash"

"Wake up!" Noctowl started to slash Sharon up, down, left, right, and any where it could.

"Land of shiny!" Sharon mumbled in her sleep.  
"Dream eater" Winona ordered. The first two attacks had been testing the waters, making sure that Sharon was asleep before using the attack that rely caused damage. Once again, Noctowl started to glow purple, except Sharon also started to glow purple.

Sharon screamed in agony, grabbing her head while still asleep. Glowing energy began to be pulled off of Sharon into Noctowl, Noctowl was draining Sharon dry. Suddenly, Sharon's eyes opened.

"Rock-throw!" Michael ordered. Sharon pulled a large rock out of the ground, and threw it at Noctowl. It struck the psychic bird, and smashed into gravel.

"Peck" Noctowl flew at Sharon, and pecked her hard in the head. Sharon was so drained, that she finally ended up collapsing. Her eyes were closed, and she was done. Michael pulled out her pokeball, and withdrew her.

"You did great" Michael whispered, kissing her ball. He then looked down at me. "Angel, its your turn"

"Oh joy" I mumbled sarcastically. I knew I was walking onto the field, but in all honesty, I couldn't feel it happen. Noctowl looked down at me, and it was pissed. I grinned at it like the little bitch I was. "Your psychic attacks got nothing on me"

"I don't need them to beat you" It growled at me. Finally, a response.

"Angel, faint attack" I vanished into the shadows, and appeared above Noctowl. I tackled it before it could get away, before getting sucked back to where I was.

"Noctowl, silver wing"

"Awe fuck" Noctowl started to flap silver energy at me, cutting me all over as I tried to get away. The cuts were deep, and they hurt more then I imagined they possibly could.

"Angel, yawn" _I know yawn?_

I yawned, and as soon as I did Noctowls eyes went slack. It shook its self rapidly, but it still was looking tired.

"Noctowl, we don't have much time, use hyper beam" A beam of pure energy fired out of Noctowls mouth, and as it fired, it fell asleep.

The beam went crazy as Noctowl fell, cutting a circle through the air and the ground. It finally went out when Noctowl hit the ground, fast asleep.

I walked over and looked at the sleeping bird. I kicked it a couple of times, just for good measure.

"Angel, giga impact" I jumped a foot into the air, as energy swirled around me. I came down hard, striking Noctowl all over. Dirt and mud shot out every where, as I drove the bird deeper into the ground. Its eyes went wide, as the air was knocked out of it. Noctowl twitched once, and passed out.

"Bitch" I whispered, grinning like a loon. I walked back to the other side of the field slowly, little drops of blood dribbling out because of that damn silver wind. I was having trouble breathing, I was so tired.

Noctowl was withdrawn in a beam of red energy. Even though I was tired, I still felt confident, I could do this.

"Three of them down, all thanks to me" I said (Also still selfish). "What's she got next, I can take it. Winona's next pokemon emerged in front of me. I looked straight up, up at the seven foot tall Dragonite. It waved at me.

"Oh fuck"


	90. Third Battle II

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help**

**IXC: Third Battle II**

I was freezing cold, dribbling blood from various cuts, breathing heavily, and now about to fight a giant Dragonite.

You could say things weren't going well.

"I was wondering when you guys would show up again" The Dragonite said to me, "You've been the most fun I've had in awhile" Why was the enemy talking to me? Better yet, why was he (definitely a he), being so freaking nice?!

"Angel, shadow ball" I formed a ball of black energy in front of my mouth, and fired.

"Twister" Winona ordered. Dragonites wings began flapping rapidly, flapping purple energy at my on coming shadow ball. Then to my absolute shock, the shadow ball started to move backwards. I turned to run, only to have the purple energy flip me on my back, cutting the fuck out of me. I landed still facing Dragonite, just in time for the shadow ball to hit me in the face.

Didn't hurt, but still annoying. I pulled my self up again, shaking the attack off. No time to quit now.

"Angel, taunt!" Michael ordered. I locked eyes with Dragonite, my eyes glowing. As soon as he locked eyes with me, he began to use Twister again. Seeing as Twister is the weakest dragon-type move, makes sense that Michael would use it then. Winona went silent, waiting for the taunt to end.

"Now Angel, faint attack, then assurance" I was sucked into a shadow, and appeared behind Dragonite, who was now Twistering thin air. I slammed into his diamond hard scales, before being sucked back.

I had only landed a second, before propelling myself at Dragonites chest, striking it hard. Of course his chest was pure muscle, and I did almost no damage. When I landed, Dragonites wings had finally gone limp. It started breathing heavy, sick to death of doing Twister.

"Dragon rush"

"Mean look Angel" I gave Dragonite the meanest look I could muster, as the glowing-purple Dragonite shot at me like a bullet. He hit me so hard, that I went flying like a soccer ball. I hit the ground, and began to roll, slamming through several rocks before finally stopping.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me" I mumbled, standing up, "Why on earth did he use Mean Look? I honestly don't think Winona will swap that damn dragon out"

"Now screech" Michael ordered. I opened my mouth, and unleashed an ear splitting scream, so loud it even hurt my own giant ears. Dragonite clenched its eyes, and put its clawed hands over its ear holes.

"Thunder wave" Winona ordered. A thin stream of electricity shot out of Dragonite, and struck me between the eyes. Usually thunder wave wouldn't hurt, but the heavy rain caused it to burn me like crazy. I shrieked, this time in pain, before my muscles went stiff, my throat frozen with my head up. "Now Slam!"

I remember seeing a giant dark orange mass above me, coming down at me rapidly. I remember Michael yelling Moon Light, but my body being paralyzed. Then I remember nothing.

What I next remember is being in Michael's arms, feeling like I was disembodied from my body. I could see Rush out on the field with the Dragonite in front of it, but I couldn't feel my body.

Just great. My entire body was numb, I couldn't even feel Michael's arms holding me. My neck was evidently dripped over one of his arms, seeing as I was viewing the battle from an angle. I was still cold and wet though, glad to still be able to feel that.

"Ice beam Rush" Michael ordered.

"Thunder" Rush fired an ice beam, only to have his tiny shimmering beam vanish in an explosion of electricity. The explosion spread out, eventually consuming Rush, and hiding him from my view. The electricity finally ended, and Rush's slightly fried outline appeared again.

Not a good way to begin your battle.

The water both channeled electricity, and helped Rush not take maximum damage (being a water-type), so he wasn't as bad off as he could be. Still, it had to be a bitch to get hit by that attack. Luckily, thunder takes a lot of energy to use, and it would be at least twenty minutes before he could attack.

"Rock tomb Rush"

"Wing attack"

Rush began to pitch rocks at the Dragonite, smashing them into his skull. The Dragonites wings extended to their full length, and he flew straight at Rush.

"Kip!" Rush turned scarred tail and ran, Dragonite on moving fast to catch up. He kept tossing rocks over his back, each one crashing against the dragon. It ended up being for not, the Dragonite striking Rush in the back of the skull.

Rush was tossed forward, somersaulting across the ground. He bounced over some rocks and skipped over a few holes. Finally he rolled to a stop on his back, only to have Dragonite fire dragon-breath onto him. The breath stopped after a minute, and a sizzling Rush was left on the ground.

"Now Rush!" Michael ordered. Rush fired off an ice beam, hitting Dragonite between the eyes. The ice spread over his head, until it was a complete shell. His wings went limp, and Rush had to roll out of the way to avoid being crushed by the weight.

The ice shell smashed, and an amazing number of sores and cuts had appeared on the Dragonites head. Amazing how fatal ice was to dragons, absolutely astonishing. Actually, it makes no sense what so ever.

"Now rock tomb" Michael ordered. As the Dragonite started to push its self up, Rush pitched rocks onto it, knocking it on its chest again. Rush then fired ice beam onto Dragonites wings and legs, coating them completely in ice.

"Hyper beam" Winona ordered. Dragonite turned to face Rush, and fired a beam of pure energy at him. Rush dove to the left, and fired an ice beam. The hyper beam missed, while the ice beam again froze the Dragonites head.

Its two clawed arms went nuts, flailing like crazy, and making him look like he was having a seizure. Then suddenly they went limp, along with the rest of his body.

Frozen and out cold. Victory almost within grasp. Dragonite out, only two pokemon left.

_One of them is that fucking Altaria, but at least we've go something on outside this time._

Winona paused before recalling the Dragonite. She paused again, thinking about something, before sending out her next pokemon.

"Tropius, your turn" Of course. Even though I could only see the outline, Tropius looked just as stupid as it did before, with its giant leaf wings, and melon-helmet-head. For the love of all things holy, it's a flying fruit salad.

"Razor leaf Tropius" Swirling leaves pierced the rain barrier. Rush immediately responded with multiple water guns, knocking them down like targets at a shooting gallery. He missed a few though, and they proceeded to cut the fuck out of his face.

Rush screamed in pain, blood dribbling down his tiny face. A final one rushed by his head, and sliced through a rock. How the hell does a leaf do that?

"Rush, double team" About forty of Rush appeared in a circle around Tropius. Tropius fired leaves at various Rush's, only to end up embedding them in the mud. Suddenly, a beam of ice shot out from one of the Rush's, and struck Tropius in the neck. Tropius flapped its huge body over to the Rush that had fired the beam, but since it couldn't move its head, Rush was able to get away.

He maneuvered his way under Tropius, and fired an ice beam straight upwards. Ice spread out between Tropius's legs, freezing them in place. Tropius, growling with rage, flapped its way to the ground. It then attempted to crush Rush by slamming its body into the ground, but the Kip was out of the way.

Tropius did manage to break the ice holding its legs in place. It then slammed its neck into the ground, and smashed that to pieces also.

"Sunny day" Winona ordered. As if on cue, the rain vanished. The rain was natural, while the sunny day was just an attack, and it made this moment surreal. Of course, this meant Winona was planning to something big.

"Rock slide Rush" Michael ordered. Rocks rained out of the sky, pitched by Rush at Tropius. Each one hit the Tropius, who only used its wings to flap a few of them away.

"Tropius, solar beam" Winona ordered. Fuck, I guessed as much.

The floating fruit salads eyes went wide, and started to glow yellow. Michael ordered Rush to dodge, and he took off running. Left and right, dodging rocks as Tropius followed him with its eyes.

"No!" Rush's left hind foot got caught in mud, and he ended up getting flipped on his back. He landed with a squishing noise, sinking into the mud. Tropius didn't waist this opportunity, firing on Rush full strength.

"Kiiiiiiiip" Rush screamed in agony, as the solar beam completely covered him. The mud dried up and hardened, being cooked in by the energy. Finally the solar beam ended, leaving us with cooked Kip.

"Rush return" Michael said, smiling. He kissed Rush's ball, and clipped it, before getting the next one. "Bane lets go"

"Must we" Bane asked, as he appeared on the field. He looked up at Tropius. "Why me?"

"Force palm Bane" Michael ordered. Good idea, try and paralyze the giant fucker. Bane's palm glowed red, and he lunged at Tropius, smacking it in the chest. As he did, the sunny day ended and the rain returned.

"Fly Tropius"

"Move Bane!"

Tropius shot straight into the air, and Bane took off as fast as his two legs could carry him, running in a circle with his head in the air. It didn't matter though. Tropius shot through the rain, wings and limbs tucked in, like a cork out of a champagne bottle. It hit the ground right in front of Bane, sending gravel and dirt up. Mud flew all the way across the field, and splattered me on the damp fur.

The dust settled, and the fruit salad's head was stuck in the ground, and it was currently trying to pull it out. Bane though was on his back, coated in mud. I could see bruises through his fur.

"Bane, drain punch" Bane pulled his aching tiny body, up, and punched Tropius in the side. As he did, his arm began to glow green, draining energy from Tropius. He only got one drain punch before Tropius pulled its head out.

"Body slam" Winona ordered. Bane was unable to get out of the way, before Tropius slammed all of its bulk into Bane, throwing him across the field. Bane yelled as he flew, finally skidding to a stop near us.

"Okay, that hurt"

"Shadow claw" Michael ordered. Bane's shadow went long, moving under Tropius. It suddenly pulled its self up, and before Tropius could move, slashed it across the back.

Tropius yelled in agony, exhausted from the beating it had taken from Rush and Bane. The fucker still wouldn't go down though. It focused its attention on Bane.

"Air slash" Winona ordered

"Blaze kick" Michael ordered. Bane leapt, right leg extended, headed straight at Tropius. His leg suddenly burst into flames, and even the rain couldn't put him out. Tropius on the other hand, pulled all for of its leaf wings back. It flapped them, and sent a slash of fast moving air at Bane.

Bane sailed through the slash, but the slash struck him in the chest, gouging him. Bane hit Tropius in the head, setting his head on fire its head. Head ablaze, Tropius fell out of the sky, followed by Bane. The two hit the ground with a thunderous crash, and both went limp.

Winona withdrew Tropius, and Michael withdrew Bane.

"I think you remember this next one" Winona said, "Altaria, lets go" I could see the cloud-coated bird floating in the rain. It was completely at peace, ready to take on a Lairon.

Boy was it in for a disappointment.

"You won't remember this one" Michael said, grinning. "Titan, lets go!" A giant white flash occurred, as Titan emerged on the field. All seven foot, half ton, Aggron glory off him. Rain poured off of his horns, down his arms, and down his long tail. He let out a triumphant cry as he appeared.

"...You evolved" The Altaria said. Titan grinned.

"You bet your ass I evolved"

"What are you" Titan scooped up a large rock on his left hand. He rushed at Altaria, and grabbed it by the neck with his right hand.

"I'm the juggernaut bitch!" He snarled, before smashing the boulder into Altaria's head.

"Earth quake" Winona ordered.

"Metal burst Titan" Michael cried. The ground began to shake, slamming into Titan. As it did, Titan began to glow. As earth quake ended, energy shot off of Titan, hitting Altaria in the face. If Altaria used earthquake, Titan would use metal burst and do more damage to Altaria.

"Sing" Winona ordered.

"Rest!" Michael cried. Before Altaria could put Titan to sleep, he went to sleep willingly. This way, no matter what happened, Titan would wake up after the next time Altaria used an attack.

"Earth quake again" Winona called out. The ground began to shake, a wave of earth slamming over Titan, coating him. Titan pulled himself out of the earth, yawning as he did.

"That tickled" Titan said, "What else you going to do?"

"Dragon pulse" Michael ordered. Titan opened his mouth, and fired off a blast of dragon energy. It hit Altaria, tossing it out of the sky and into the ground.

"Dragon dance, and Dragon breath" Winona ordered. Altaria pulled its self out of the ground, its body shaking as it did. It stopped, and fired a torrent of Dragon breath at Titan, which struck him in the chest. Titan though brushed it off as if it were nothing, and started moving forward. Altaria's eyes went wide, and it tried upping the Dragon breath. No dice, it didn't slow Titan down at all.

Titan again grabbed Altaria by the throat, and slammed it into the ground. Gravel was tossed up as Titan did it.

"Rock slide Titan!" Michael cried. Titan grinned. He pulled out a rock, and smashed it on Altaria, then a second, and a third. Over and over again, until Altaria was covered in gravel. Blood dribble out through cracks in the gravel, but Titan continued wailing on Altaria.

After a minute, he finally stopped. Standing up, Altaria was completely still. Unconscious? Then did this mean we won?!

"Huh" Winona laughed, withdrawing Altaria. "I guess this means you win"

"I win?!" Michael cried. He started giggling like a loon. "I win! I win!"

"Yeeeeaaaah" Titan snarled, throwing his arms up in a victory pose. He did it. I'll admit it, Titan beat the damn Altaria, and we won.

Fucking A.


	91. Idols

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**IXCI: Idols**

"Look at how shiny it is" Michael said, still mystified at his gym badge. He kept holding it, fingering it, unwilling to let it get dinged and scratched like the others. I kept waiting for Michael to lick it, as crazy as he was acting. "I wouldn't even have it if it weren't for how well my pokemon did"

"You hear that" I said, "He's giving all of the thanks to me" Flash zapped me. "Yow! Oh come on, I'm still wet!" Flash stuck out his tongue. "Asshole"

"I'm glad to be out of Fortree" I heard Shu mumble, "Don't like heights" I turned and looked at the albino Mightyena. "Don't like them at all"

We had left Fortree almost immediately after winning. We stayed just long enough to pack up, tell the tap dancers to fuck off, and visit the poke center. Sharon was out, and amazed at Titan.

"Big shiny!" Sharon marveled. Dex was asleep on her head, he didn't actually care. I wonder what its like when your life is that simple.

"Oh yeah" Titan said, still talking like a hipster, "I've gotten so big. The hyper beam is about the biggest you could get"

"I would never call your dick the hyper beam" I said.

"Oh yeah, what would you call it?"

"Disappointing" I said, smirking. Titan scowled, as Sharon started to nibble his horn. Eh, they were so cute together.

* * *

"Michael, who was your favorite trainer as a child?" Lisa asked, "Who inspired you?"

"Never had a favorite trainer" Michael said, "My hero was, and is Stanley Prusiner, the guy who proved misfolded prions were related to diseases. I had a grandfather who died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease"

"You did?" Lisa asked, "I'm so sorry. Crouton what disease?"

"Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease" Michael said, "It causes holes in the brain. Like mad Miltank disease. Why do you ask?"

"Winona was my hero when I was younger" Lisa said, "You gotta remember, as early as thirteen years ago their weren't many female gym leaders, and very few famous female trainers. It also didn't help my case that my parents despised me, but there you go.

"Anyways, Winona was the most female gym leader, the second one ever, behind Claire. Not only that, but Winona had to earn it. Claire inherited her gym leader position, Winona had to have a perfect battle. I mean, yeah that red haired ditz in Kanto won her position, then the psychic robot and that flower girl all had to do the same thing. Winona was the first one who earned it, and I wanted to do that. I wanted to earn the highest honor in Johto, by becoming Champion"

"Why wasn't Claire your inspiration?" Louis asked.

"I was in her fan club, and I wrote her a letter after my aunt died, and I was in a bad place. The bitch never responded, and she can burn in hell" Lisa got a crazy look in her eyes.

"It frightens me that between her and Robin" Wisp said, "She more sane then Robin. That almost isn't possible" Behind Wisp, I could see several sets of eyes staring out at us from the woods. I ignored it though, has to be nothing.

"Whose your hero?" Lisa asked Louis. Louis had a bottle of lemon scented vodka out, and it was half empty.

"...I dunno" He said, "My dad told me he was my hero, so I guess my dad" He took a heavy slug of booze.

"You had to be told who you admired?" Michael asked.

"Of course" Louis said, "All though frankly, I think its a waste to admire a shoe salesman"

"Fitting people with one-size-fits-all cement loafers, a shoe salesman does not make!" I said.

"Who did you admire Angela?" Flash asked me, "Who inspired you?"

"Aw, who gives a fuck" I said, "If you must know, Anabel" Every member of our group gave me blank looks. "Of the battle frontier?" Still nothing. "Leader of the frontier brains? The brains you people obviously lack"

"That was just mean" Enfer said to me.

"I don't care! I mean, not even Bane and Shu are saying anything!" I looked at the two of them. "At least these other pinheads have the excuse of being pokemon"

"Hey!"

"I was never interested in pokemon" Bane said, "I always was interested in singing and dancing. I wanted to be the next Gene Kelly, the man was able to dance so well that he was practically gliding on air"

"Your whole life revolved around that sort of stuff" I said, "Didn't it?"

"For awhile" Bane said, "I haven't actually thought about it in awhile. I don't really miss dancing, I like being still. I guess you could say"

"The complete musical score to Meet Me In Saint Louis"

"Clang clang clang goes the trolley!" Bane sang.

"I mostly just wanted him to shut up about his life and shit" I said, "All in agreement?"

"Aye" They said in unison. I looked at Shu. "Seeing as we're talking about people we admired, who was your hero?"

"I didn't have a hero" Shu said, "I lived in Orre, during the Gulaph revolution. My only friend was my gun, even it didn't keep me safe when they killed my mother or raped my sister" He delivered this so flat, and so emotionless it was startling. We all took a step back.

"What was the Gulaph revolution?" Flash asked.

"You don't want know" Shu said. He bent his head down, and Wisp licked him across the nose.

"You okay?"

"I really don't wanna talk about it" Shu whispered.

"Do you wish to know who inspired Pecha?" Pecha asked, ranting. She was riding on Nel, her new noble steed, who was choking under the weight. "Who got Pecha started on her path to greatness"

"What path of greatness?"

"Pecha followed the example of Hannibal!" Pecha said, "A human who could qualify as pokemon. Pecha knows that if Hannibal were alive today, he would help the Chu take over the world, and unite it under Pecha's reign of terror! New Chu Order! New Chu Order!" Listening to Pecha speak was a great drinking game. Every time Pecha ranted, or said New Chu Order, take a shot.

I could see eyes still looking out from us from the woods, and now I could hear a large group of them following me. Admittedly, thanks to my foot long ears I could hear every thing, I was obviously the only person who heard them. Why in the fuck hell would they be following us?

"I always admired my dad" Trish said, fluttering above my head. "In my flock, larger Skarmorys would bully and control the smaller ones. My dad was leader of our flock, and he stood up against corruption" She smiled, "My mom cut his tin throat, and then blamed the murder on me, may she burn in the deepest ring of hell"

"The deepest ring of hell is a cold place" Flash said, "According to myth, all of the evil in the world is frozen in the dead center. In theory this show the evil is at its core, little more then a kernel in the center of the earth, or a worm" We all looked at Flash. "What? Have you never read?"

"I can't read!" I said. I then mumbled, "As long as Not Milotic is free, evil is never truly imprisoned"

"I admire Flash" We all turned to the new, slightly crumpled voice. Nel, trapped under the monster that was Pecha. "I can't breath"

"Pecha, get your fat ass off Nel" I snarled.

"Pecha's royal feet will never touch the ground, cursing Eeveon" Pecha said, "Pecha will always be on her" Trish, sick of this shit, flapped over and grabbed Pecha by the tail. She then flapped upward. "What are you doing?! Let go of me fowl destructo bird!"

"You know" Trish said, "We used to eat birds like you on a daily basis. Was one of them your sister?" Pecha attempted to zap Trish, forgetting Trish was made of metal, and thus conducted electricity. The two of them fell out of the sky head first, only to be grabbed by Flash.

"You should have let Pecha hit the ground" I said, "Her head is so hard, she might break the ground"

"Why do you admire me?" Flash asked Nel. "I haven't done anything particularly memorable. I've done plenty of bad things in my life, and their are plenty of others more deserving of praise. Why me?"

"Why you?" Nel asked, "Do you know what you've done for me?"

"Do we care?" I asked.

"I'm afraid" Nel said, "I'm afraid of rocks, and grass, and trees" It went on like that for about six minutes, "And trees"

"You said trees already" Wisp growled.

"I'm scared of Vulpix" Nel said, "And Mudkip"

"Why be scared of me?" Rush asked, "I'm Kipilishish"

"I don't think that's a word" Enfer said.

"I was never afraid of you though" Nel said, "You were nice to me, when no one else was"

"I was nice!" I cried, "Don't I count for anything?"

"You called me a fuzzy bitch" Nel said.

"....I'll shut up now"

"You were nice though Flash" Nel said, "You said I don't have to be afraid" I could see the eyes in the forest, except this time they were closer. How the hell did no one other then me notice that?

"Uh guys" I said, "We're being followed"

"You're imagining it" Someone said to me, no idea who. That was a major problem with having such a large group.

"You don't have to be afraid" Flash said. "Fear cripples your life, how can you live if your truly afraid?"

"I don't want to live my life" Nel said, "Especially after what happened when I was younger..." She shook her head, "But when you talk to me, you make me think every thing will be okay!"

"I just say what's true" Flash said, "I want you to feel better"

"Guys!" I said, "That's a trip wire" They all turned to what I was looking at. About three feet in front of us was a trip wire, stretched out across the road. We all stopped, but the humans in our group didn't notice. They ended up tripping, and sprawling across us.

"Waugh!" They hit the ground, hitting the trip wire. Michael sat up.

"Guys, what's" Something large fell out of the tree above, hitting Michael over the head and exploding. Powder went every, all over all of us. We started to cough up a storm, but Michael, Louis, and Lisa did nothing. Hell, they didn't even move. Wait, what?

The sound of footsteps filled the air, every one else finally noticing what I had seen all along. Pokemon, about forty of them, standing in a circle around us, three pokemon deep. One of them stepped out into the center of the circle, coming foreword to us. The pokemon was a Mr. Mime, and was about as disturbing looking as you could imagine.

It looked us up, down, and all over. It touched me under the muzzle, so I bit its rather disturbing thumb. We were all paralyzed, watching this mob carefully. Michael, Louis, and Lisa were just paralyzed. Seriously, they weren't even breathing.

The Mr(s?). Mime stopped inspecting us like meat. He/She/It turned to the crowd, and held up its hands, drawing all attention to him/her.

"Ladies and gentelmon" It said, "It is her. We have found our empress" A moment of silence. Then, cheering.

"Does anyone know what's going on?" I asked.

"Just keep smiling" Bane said. Michael, Louis, and Lisa's frozen bodies were loaded onto a Ponyta, balancing them. We started walking forward, the bunch of random pokemon still encircling us.

"Could you tell me what's going on?" I asked the Mr. Mime.

"Like you don't know" He said, "Our brilliant empress traveling among you in secret. We knew she would return to us eventually"

"Excuse me" Enfer said, "Your empress?"

"Our child empress" She said, "Before her, all of the tribes of pokemon were ununited. We existed among each other, but never interacted. The empress changed all of that" They lead us into the woods, down a path that appeared to have been cut by them. They still didn't break formation.

"Our empress was the wisest, most intelligent in our clan. At two months, she had learned to read and write human. By four months, she had ceased fighting between the clans. At one year, she united us as one tribe, under her rule" It sighed, "A year ago, she decided to go on a spiritual growth journey. She was so brave, leaving before she had even evolved. We got worried though. She had been missing for a year, but finally returned" The Mr. Mime sighed, "Haven't you Empress?" All of the females in our group looked at one another, except Sharon who kept gnawing on Titan.

"The Empress inspires us" A Charmander near me said.

"She is our hero, the one who inspires us"

"Why are our humans paralyzed?" Bane asked.

"The berry gas only effects humans" Mr. Mime said, "Its mixed with stun spore. They're in a waking coma, they'll come out of it in a day, with no idea what happened" It smiled. "We're here"

Suddenly, we emerged from the forest in a large clearing. In the clearing were multiple thatched huts, vegetable gardens, pools of water, fire pits, and pokemon. They were just about every species imaginable, several of them not native to Hoenn. In the center of the village was a statue of the empress. Oh dear God.

"Is that who I think it is?" I asked.

"It can't be" Enfer said.

"It is though" Trish cried.

"Our empress has returned to us" Mr. Mime said, "Let us give a cheer, for Empress Sharon the Wise!"

The statue was a giant statue of a Trapinch. Of Sharon. Oh good lord.


	92. Everyone's Hero

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**IXCII: Everyone's Hero**

Now just for the record, the pokemon in the village didn't call Sharon by her name. The name they called her was long, hard to pronounce, and began with an X. I just decided to call her Sharon for your sake, my dear listener. Even if I could pronounce it, I can't remember because it was decades ago.

We all were frozen, dumbstruck by the statue, and by the pokemon. It felt like they had shoved their magic, giant cock into my ear and fucked my mind. Luckily, I didn't seem to be the only one who felt that way.

"Sharon?" Titan asked, looking at the nibbling Flygon. "You? Y-you're the empress?"

"How is Pecha not their leader?" I cried. "When they talk about an empress, the first thing you think of is that furry psychopath!"

"Amused not is Pecha" Pecha cried out, "Confused though is she" The circle of pokemon were now moving over to Titan, trying to take Sharon.

"Stay back!" Titan cried, "Back!"

"We need our empress" A Haunter said, trying to grab Sharon (Which was a fruitless task). Titan responded by throwing a boulder through the Haunter (Also fruitless).

"We will take our empress" A Machamp said. Titan pulled up another boulder, and the Machamp delivered twin brick brakes to his stomach. All the air went out of Titan, like a balloon deflating. Titan collapsed on his stomach, with Dex on his head and Sharon finally being forced to let go.

"Okay, that does it" I snarled, running and jumping at the Machamp. Sharon was annoying, hyperactive, had an attention span that would compare unfavorably to a monkey, but she made me laugh. So they had to pay for trying to take us.

I had a shadow ball ready, only to be chopped in the side by one of his upper arms. I went down hard, splattering in the mud. Okay, that hurt.

Well the rest of our group had decided to stop being stunned, and to fight against the multiple pokemon in the village. Wisp and Pecha were combo burning/zapping several flying-types, while Shu headbutted anything in his way. Bane jumped and force palmed a Magneton, only to end up paralyzed himself. Enfer looked enraged, breathing heavily, and staring at the Machamp.

"You hurt my daughter" Enfer whispered. "YOU HURT MY DAUGHTER!" She screamed, jumping at the Machamp. Enfer fired a fire blast at Machamp, and it tried to catch it with its four arms. This did not work.

Attempting to do this caused him to let go of Sharon, who proceeded to punch him in the lower spine (calling him a meanie as she did). Machamp's eyes went wide, and Sharon ended up punching him into the fire blast. Enfer then jumped and bit down hard on his leg, hard enough to draw heavy blood.

Machamp shrieked in so much pain, I almost felt sorry. Almost. Machamp attempted to grab Enfer, only to have Trish swoop down and begin poking him in the face.

"STOP!" We all looked up, to see Sharon had flown above the chaos. "No fighting! I don't like fighting! Stop taking me from shiny!" She looked down at Titan, and flew at him, embracing him in a hug. She stroked Titan and Dex, a happy look on her face. "My shiny"

The pokemon from the village looked at each other, very confused.

"Shiny?"

"Why did the empress say shiny?"

"Why is she gnawing on that Aggron"

"They must have the wrong Flygon"

"No, we have the right one" The Mr. Mime from earlier said. It was bleeding from a cut under its left eye. "Our Lucario confirmed that the Flygon has the same aura as our empress Sharon. She is our empress" He/she moved over to Titan and Sharon. "Come Sharon, mate of Sharon, and servants"

"Pecha serves none!"

"Follow us to the royal palace"

* * *

The royal palace, what a joke. The palace was a thatched, multiple room hut, sitting on top of a hill. According to Victor-Victoria Mime, the palace had been built by the empress and her royal guard.

Yeesh, the royal guard. Their were four of them, the Machamp from earlier, a Scyther, a Lucario, and an Electabuzz, ready to die for the empress. Right now we sat in the largest room in the royal palace, with the royal guard standing around us.

Outside of the palace were all of the pokemon in the village, just waiting for something. Mr. Mime was examining Sharons skull, occasionally whispering things to a Chatot who was perched on a piece of wood sticking out of the wall.

Titan was beside them, watching them with lazer precision. Dex was on his chest, spinning a web across it. Lucario watched Titan, ready to drop the half ton Aggron at a moments notice.

Michael, Lisa, and Louis were propped against the wall, still frozen. I was beginning to get worried about them, they were breathing (although you could barely see it). I turned to the Electabuzz, the guard nearest to me. It was a she of all things, and she reminded me of Virgil. Still as a statue, to the casual observer, you might assume she was dead.

"Uh, excuse me"

"Yes" She said, not even turning to me to talk.

"What did you do to our...humans. How did you freeze them?"

"A mixture of crushed cheri berries, and stun spore. Upon contact, it causes paralysis in humans only"

"Why only humans?" I asked, but Electabuzz had gone back to ignoring me.

"I can answer that" Flash said, "Berries only effect pokemon, not humans. When stun spore is ingested into humans, it puts them in a living coma, for almost 24 hours. After that time, they come out of it, unaware that anything has happened"

"This blows" Wisp mumbled, echoing my sentiments. "We shouldn't just be sitting around in this village of lunatics"

"We can't escape though" Rush said, "And we can't fight them. Their are way to many of them, and besides, what would be the point? They didn't attack us, we attacked them. They've been nice, and look on the bright side, no one has been hurt"

"I guess your right" Wisp said. She cracked a rarely seen smile. "How did you end up so nice?" She asked, nuzzling him.

"I'd fight" Shu mumbled. He sat directly behind me, and my giant ears could hear every thing, his heavy breathing, beads of sweat rolling down his fur. Shu was grinding his back teeth, he was anxious. "One thing I learned in Orre, besides how to build things, was how to fight" I turned and looked back at Shu.

"Build things?" I asked, raising my fur brow. Shu blushed through his white fur, like he was ashamed about this.

"Y-yeah! I liked to build things, take old appliances and create something new. Like, I once made an electric lock pick from my moms old vibrator, a piece of an electric sowing machine, and a paper clip"

"....Kay"

"You don't know the rush you get when you create something of your own design" Shu said, "Even if its a machine, made from other machines, it almost feels like your child. It's your child, only your child, no one else can have it. I wanted to be an engineer, before" He looked down at his paws, "Before I was reborn" I stoop up, and walked over to him.

"I'm so sorry" I whispered, leaning my head into him. Shu sighed, and smiled softly.

"Thanks Angel" He whispered.

"How much longer?" I heard Sharon asked. I returned my attention to the, now very bored, Flygon. She kept looking longingly at Titan, and his shiny skull. "Why do you have Gyarados statue?"

"Excuse me?" Mr. Mime asked.

"Why have Gyarados statue in village?" Sharon asked, "What did Gyarados do for you?"

"That's a Trapinch statue" Mr. Mime said, "Of you, oh divine empress" Sharon paused, mulling over this info.

"What's a Trapinch?" Sharon asked, before biting on her fingers for some reason.

"Theirs something wrong here" Chatot squawked. Gee, what was the first clue? The empress obsessed with shiny things? The group of pokemon that knew nothing of Sharon's royal heritage? The fact that the Flygon had no idea that she was a Flygon?

"I think I know what" Mr. Mime said, pausing over one spot on her skull. "Her skull is cracked, so badly cracked that even evolution wouldn't completly heal it" Mr. Mime turned and looked at us. "How long has our divine empress been injured?"

"I have no idea" Enfer said, acting as our group spokes person. "When Sharon joined our group, she already had the head wound. She was under the impression she was a Gyarados, and nothing we could do could convince her otherwise"

"Well" Madame Mime said, "We have something that can help. Our empress helped us grow a knew kind of berry, enigma berries, that can heal even brain damage. We can have a potion made up in an hour, and she'll be good as new" We all froze in our place. Enfer once again spoke for all of us.

"Good as new?" Enfer asked.

"She'll be back to normal" Mr. Mime said, finally letting go of Sharon. Sharon shot off, and flew into Titan, tackling him. She grabbed Dex, and put him on her head, before biting Titan on the horn yet again.

"She won't do that any more?" Bane asked, gesturing to the lovely, if disturbing scene. Mr. Mime looked absolutely disgusted by the public display of shiny.

"With any luck" It said, "All of this stupidity will be washed away, and empress Sharon will become our grand ruler again"

"Woah!" Titan said, "Stop right there, Sharon is not leaving our group" He pulled his bulk up, Sharon still holding onto him. Mr. Mime had left the room for a moment, and returned with a bowl and one of those crusher things pharmacists used to crush herbs. Chatot had vanished, no doubt looking for enigma berries.

"Well, it isn't exactly your choice, is it?" Mr. Mime asked. "It's up to our divine empress to decide" He-she turned to Sharon, and bowed down. "Oh divine leader, ruler of the Outsiders pokemon tribe, uniting of all tribes, source of all light, spring of all wisdom, what is your decision?"

"Oh noser of brown, licker of boot, kisser of ass, must you ask questions like this?" I mumbled.

"I have thumbs!" Sharon exclaimed. Titan sighed, and shook his head. He began to stroke her on top of her scaly skull.

"Sharon, do you want to stay with our group, and go on many fun adventures?" Titan asked, "Or stay and be ruler over a bunch of destitute, parasitic pokemon who need to move on with their lives?"

"Berries taste good" Sharon said, getting a groan out of us.

"She selected the potion" Mr. Mime said quickly, "Our empress lives again!"

"Now hold on a second"

"You will of course become our new emperor" Mr. Mime said. Titan paused for a moment, thinking it over.

"Lets cook a potion!" Titan cried. As he said that, the Chatot flapped into the room, a black and white berry in its mouth. The berry was in the shape of a question mark, and enigma.

Chatot brought it over to Mr. Mime, who dropped it in the bowl and began to crush it up. It squirted out some juice, which smelled like boiled piss. The crushing thing clinked against the bowl, and little drops of berry juice hit the ground as he crushed.

"Royal Guard Yellow" Mr. Mime said, "I need your services" Royal Guard Yellow as it turns out was Electabuzz. Electabuzz grabbed the bowl, and charged it full of electricity. As soon as she stopped, the bowl started to boil.

"Enigma berries boil when electrified" Mr. Mime said, "And will boil for over an hour" He grabbed the bowl, and took it over to Sharon. Once again, she bowed down, giving us a disturbing view of its ass. "Oh empress, drink of this holiest of potions"

"....Bubbly!" Titan let go of Sharon, as she slammed her head into the bowl, and began sucking it all up. "This taste funny" Suddenly, all of Sharon's limbs went wild, shaking like crazy.

"Sharon!" Titan attempted to go over to her, but the Lucario grabbed onto him.

"Sorry sir Titan" Lucario said, "You can not touch the empress while she heals" Sharon fell to the ground, and began convulsing. We all jumped up, only to have the other three royal guards stand in front of us.

"Fuck that noise" Titan cried, attempting to walk over to Sharon. Lucario kicked him in the side, so hard he fell to his knees.

"I can not allow that sir" Lucario said, "Besides, its almost over. Look" It pointed to Sharon, who had finally stopped shaking. Her eyes were clenched shut, and her limbs were limp. Suddenly, she bolted up.

"I have returned!" She shouted as she did. Sharon looked across the room at us, the royal guards, the Mr. Mime, and Titan.

"Oh your divine highness" Mr. Mime said, kneeling again.

"Please stand up" Sharon said, "Their is no need to grovel before me. I am just a Flygon" She smiled softly. "Just a Flygon" Sharon fluttered over to Titan, who was awestruck by his mate. She took his rock hands in hers. "Thank you my mate, my dear sweet Titan for restoring my mind. Shall we go answer the jubilant cries of the other pokemon?" Titan just stood there frozen.

"Uh, sure" Sharon hung on Titan, and stroked Dex, as the two of them left the room. The royal guard and ass kisser followed, closely behind us.

Outside were all of the pokemon in the entire village. Dear God their must have been three hundred of them, all waited with bated breath, as Sharon existed the royal palace. They all turned their attention to Sharon, who raised her arms to silence all noise.

"Greetings my subjects" Sharon said, "I have returned from my pilgrimage to the human world. I have learned many things during my journeys, and this new knowledge shall help me bring us into a new era of prosperity!"


	93. Flowers For Sharon

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**IXCIII: Flowers For Sharon**

The crowd of pokemon erupted, for some reason. I dunno, I guess they were just happy to have Sharon back. Sharon smiled at them, her arm around Titan's neck. Titan was still in shock, just staring at Sharon.

Sharon turned from the crowd, and fluttered her way back into the "royal palace". We followed closely behind, along with the royal guard, and the royal brown noser. I was stunned by the fact Sharon had gone two minutes without chewing Titan's horn.

"I will be retiring for the afternoon to my quarters" Sharon said, "My mate and I will not be disturbed"

"Yes ma'am" Victor-Victoria Mime said. "Just let me say how wonderful it is to" Sharon slammed a door made of sticks in his face. "To have you back your royal highness"

"How far up her ass is your head?" I asked, "Is it all the way in, or what?" Mr. Mime looked down at me, a scowl on his/her face. The androgynous pokemon walked off still scowling. The four royal guards took their places in front of the door to Sharon's royal chamber.

"So what do we do?" I asked Enfer, who was our defacto leader. She shrugged.

"We might as well explore the village"

* * *

"It's exactly as I remember" Sharon said, looking over her royal quarters. Quarters was a bit of an overstatement, it was just a slab with a pile of feathers on top of it, and a berry bush coming out of a hole on the left side of the floor. Sharon picked Dex up and placed him on the wall, he automatically fell asleep. Sharon lay down on the bed, and Titan lay on his side beside her.

"It feels so soft on my scales" Sharon whispered, "I missed this feeling"

"What else did you miss about this place?" Titan asked, beginning to get curious about this brand new Sharon. Sharon sighed, snorting a piece of fluff off of her nose.

"I missed the pokemon here" Sharon said, I was so worried about them, how they would do without me. It ended up being fine though, I mean, look at them. They've flourished without me. I mean, what does this say about me? Am I a good leader? How good can they be if I've been gone over a year, and they've not had any trouble!"

"What if this means your an even better ruler then you thought?" Sharon gave him a strange look.

"Care to explain that Titan?"

"Of course" Titan said, "What I mean is, the measure of a leader shouldn't be what they did when they were in charge, but when they were gone. I mean, you were this great, awesome empress who had made her village so strong, it was able to survive without her"

"You mean it?" Sharon asked.

"Would I lie to you?" Titan asked. Sharon smiled, and draped her arm over his shoulder. She kissed him delicately on the muzzle.

"I love you Titan" Sharon whispered to him, "No matter what, never doubt that I do truly love you" He kissed her back, harder. "Titan, I'm ready for you"

* * *

"The village is beautiful" Flash said, "So many flowers" We had broken off into a few groups, my group contained Flash, Enfer, Trish, and myself. So good to have a few minutes without hearing "New Chu Order!". "I'm also surprised by how all of the pokemon get along"

"Why is that so surprising?" I asked. I heard Trish laugh above me.

"Pokemon love talking about how much better they are then humans, and they're right of course"

"Of course"

"One thing I've seen both humans and pokemon have in common is they can't get along, at all. Someone has to force them to get along or else they will not do it"

"They've gotten along okay without Sharon"

"I can't figure it" Trish said, "I guess it was because they were waiting for her return or something, I dunno"

"They're actually living better then I was when I was human" Enfer said, "Actually, I think they're living better then I am right now" The pokemon here treated us...weird. As we walked by, they gestured, called us Friends of the Empress, moved out of the way when we walked by.

"Friends of the Empress?" It was the Haunter from earlier, the one Titan had been unable to punch. "I just wanted to apologize for the fight from earlier, we just wanted to have our divine empress back"

"No problem dude" I said, "Go away" Enfer swatted me on the back of the head.

"So, what was our empress like when she traveled with you?" He asked, "What pearls of wisdom did she give you? How did she help you improve your life, because as you can see, she's improved ours so much. Its because of her we now have the rose garden"

"...." I looked at the rest of my group. "Well, tell him about her"

"Well" Enfer began.

"Sharon was" Flash started up.

"Sharon was an empty headed ditz, who talked about how shiny things were, chewed on a perverted Aggron, and once had her spine broken" Trish said. We all looked at her, mouth agape. "What? No one else would say it, and I'm sorry but I don't beat around the bush"

"Well, we've been informed of her head wound" Haunter said, "It matters not to us what she was like when she was with you, but that she's back now. Back, and ready to lead us again. I'll be seeing you" We all froze there, unable to move.

"They make a good point" Flash said.

"What if Sharon and Titan leave us?" I asked.

* * *

After it was over, Titan felt calm and at peace, more so then he ever had in his life. He felt like, fuck it was beyond words. Titan was completely in love with Sharon, he belonged to her completely. He would give his life for her if she requested it, and never feel sorry.

"Sharon, where do we go from here?" Titan asked, "Michael's still frozen outside of the room"

"I know" Sharon said, "He's still got a good sixteen hours before he starts moving again. I dunno what I want to do, I think I want to go with Michael again"

"You do?" Titan asked.

"You made a good point Titan" Sharon said, "I've been able to help the pokemon in my village so much, they don't need me any more. Besides, I enjoy traveling with Michael, and I always enjoy listening to Angel. I want to see how far we can go as a team in the pokemon league thing. When its all over, then I'll return" She stroked his stone chest, "I expect you to return with me"

"I'd follow you to the end of the world Sharon" Titan said.

"Thanks shiny" Sharon whispered. Titan opened his mouth to say something, and then froze.

"Sharon?"

"Yes Titan?"

"You just called me shiny"

"No I didn't" Her voice was rising now.

"Yes you did Sharon, you called me shiny. Why did you call me shiny?" Silence from her side. "Sharon? Why did you call me shiny?"

"...I..." Sharon's eyes went wide, and her back arched. She started to convulse uncontrollably.

"Sharon?! Sharon!" Titan ran over to the door, knocking it off of its hinges. "Help me! Somebody help me! God damn it, help me!"

* * *

"The enigma didn't bond" We were all together again, having been gathered by the members of the royal entourage. We were all in the royal chamber, where Mr. Mime had been examining Sharon.

Sharon had stopped convulsing after only a few minutes, but it wasn't good. Pokemon don't just start shaking, or having sudden lapses of stupidity. It only took for minutes for Mr. Mime to tell us what we had suspected. "I don't know why, but the enigma berry is wearing off. This isn't possible, enigma berries are supposed to bond with wounds, to heal them permanently. The berry is wearing off, it wont last very long"

"...How long do I have?" Sharon asked, "Before my mind goes away permanently?"

"Permanently?" Bane asked, "Why not just use another enigma berry potion on her?"

"Enigma berries are strange things" Mr. Mime said to us, "They'll either be able to bond with a pokemon, or reject them and never bond. Our empress is one of those one in a million cases where"

"Where it doesn't bond" Sharon sat up and put her hand on Mr. Mime's shoulder. "You've done all you could, I'm thankful for what you did do. I wish to be alone with my friends for the moment"

"Of course empress" Mr./Mrs. Mime left, along with the royal guard, leaving us alone with Sharon. She sat all the way up on the slab, Titan beside her. He draped his arm over her shoulder, and she leaned into him.

Dex was on her chest. She stroked him gently, and he shot out string onto her chin. "I'll soon be back to the way I was, never to remember who I was" Sharon drooped her head. "I don't know if I'll be able to deal with it"

"We'll help anyway we can" Flash said.

"Their is something you can do" Sharon said.

"Name it"

"Don't mention this" Sharon said, "None of this. I can deal with the head wound, I can deal with the memory loss, I can deal with the delusions, but I can't deal with the pity. I just...I" Tears formed in her goggled eyes. Flash moved over, and embraced her in a hug. Trish landed on her shoulder, and nuzzled against her. Bane jumped up and embraced her. Slowly, we all came over and embraced the sobbing Flygon. Even Pecha managed to do it.

"Thanks guys"

* * *

The next day was hazy, with an almost unnatural fog hanging over the entire village. The rest of the village had yet to be informed of what had happened to Sharon. Mr. Mime would tell them after Sharon and the rest of us had left. If Sharon stayed, they would make leaving far beyond difficult, they would do anything they could to keep her there.

Michael, Louis, and Lisa were posed against one of the huts, still frozen in place. They were breathing, but other then that you would have no idea they were frozen. We decided the best thing to do was to put them where they had fallen down, over the trip wire. The stun spore would wear off, they would loose a day, but other then that they would never notice. Well...hopefully.

"Pecha is asking a question!" Pecha loudly proclaimed to us. We all looked over at the yellow electric rat. "Pecha needs to know, who will rule the village without Sharon?"

"Who cares?" Wisp asked. "We won't be here, its their problem now"

"Pecha will take over then!" Pecha cried, "Establishing the new land of Chutopia! Pecha will rule all! New Chu Order! New Chu Order!" Take a shot.

"Pecha, you wouldn't want to rule" Flash said. Pecha laughed her usual stupid Hitler laugh.

"Pecha would never turn down the rule of her own continent! Especially since this is the capital of Hoenn"

"No it isn't" I said.

"Pecha disagrees. What ever city Pecha rules automatically becomes the capital of the continent of Chu!" She tossed her tiny yellow arms in the air. "Then Rush will love me!"

"Rush will love who now?" Rush asked, not paying attention.

"Pecha, you wouldn't want to rule this town" Flash said, "You would be in a village full of calm, loving, peaceful pokemon, not a single bloodthirsty pokemon" Pecha's ears and arms drooped.

"Pecha needs blood thirsty pokemon, she bets that they'll follow her!" Pecha turned to all of the various pokemon milling about. "Who will leave this village and help Pecha to take over the human race?" None of the pokemon even looked up at us. A few waved as they walked by, but no one listened to her malarkey.

"This is the most public of Pecha's many embarrassments" Pecha mumbled to herself.

"Well we love you anyways" Flash said, "Right guys?"

"Of course not" I said, even though everyone else said "Right!". "Where are Titan and Sharon?"

"Sharon wanted to visit some flowers or something before her mind goes" Enfer said. "Remember, when Titan comes back, Sharon will be back to how she used to be. We can never speak of this day, agreed?"

"Agreed"

* * *

"I planted the first rose in this garden" Sharon said. They stood in the middle of a large, circular rose garden. Rose's were in full bloom, and the scent wafted through the air. Dex was asleep on Sharon's head, she was glad he was. Titan walked beside Sharon as she slowly flew, stroking her lower back.

Sharon was shaking slowly. The convulsions wouldn't stop until the enigma berry had completely warn off. It was wearing off quickly though, she didn't even have a half hour left.

"I think they're beautiful" Titan said.

"I always loved roses" Sharon said, "I've put some on my mothers grave. They were her favorite flower"

"Your mother is buried around here?"

"In the woods outside of the village" Sharon said. "She died young, shortly after I was hatched. My father, I never knew my father. All I knew was he was a good Flygon"

"He would have to have been" Titan said, "To have a daughter like you" Sharon smiled at him.

"Thank you Titan. You know, I" Sharon paused. "I uh I" She started to shake uncontrollably. Titan grabbed her in his arms, holding her tight. Dex still did not wake up, nor did he loose his grip. Titan felt tears role down his tin cheek, but he refused to let go.

"Titan, I'm going" Sharon said.

"Shh, it'll be okay. I'm going fast Titan" She looked at him. "No matter what form I'm in, just remember I love you. As long as the moon is in the sky, the stars in the heaven, I will always love you" She closed her eyes and grit her teeth. Finally, the shaking stopped, and Titan let go.

"Sharon?" She opened her eyes.

"My shiny"

* * *

"This will be fine" Titan told the Ponyta who was transported our three humans on its back. They dropped Michael, Louis, and Lisa in a pile over the broken trip wire. Mr. Mime nodded at the Ponyta, then turned to us.

"Well, I'm sorry it had to end like this. But if our empress is going to become stupid, best not to have it around. In this condition, she's worthless anyways" Titan lifted Mr. Mime up by its throat.

"Say that again" Titan growled, "And I'll wring you like a sponge"

"Well, I'm just saying" Titan tossed Mr. Mime over the tree tops, so high and far we quickly lost sight. He then turned to the Ponyta.

"Go fetch" The Ponyta quickly ran off. They were only gone for a second, when Michael's arm began to twitch. Lisa blinked her eyes, Louis sat up.

"What's..." Michael continued with the sentience he started before he froze, "What happened?"

"I have no idea" Lisa said, "I'm stiff as a bored"

"My mouth is dry" Louis said. As if by magic a bottle of booze appeared in his hand, and he quickly took a slug.

"Who cares" Michael said, standing up. "Come on, lets get going" As they started to lead us, all of the massaging their muscles, I couldn't help but look at Sharon. She was simple, she was stupid, and she was happy.

That was good enough.


	94. What You Mean To Me

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**IXCIV: What You Really Mean To Me**

"Why in the fuck hell are we going to the safari zone?" Louis whined. "We should be going to Mossdeep! I don't wanna be here"

"Stop whining" Lisa said, lightly swatting Louis upside the head. "Besides, we have to stop in Lillycove first, I wanna meet your father"

"Why would you want that?" Louis grumbled. She placed her hand on his.

"Take a wild guess"

We were at the Safari Zone of Hoenn, taking a break from walking for a day. It was so oppressively hot outside, I was just glad to be sitting inside. Fan's above us whirred in an annoying rhythm, like the sounds of insect wings. I was laying on my back on a chair, my tongue hanging out.

Flash was asleep in front of my chair, giving off occasional little sparks. Dex was on his head, also asleep. Titan and Sharon, due to their size, had to be put back in their balls, L3 suffering the same fate.

Wisp and Rush were asleep, leaning into each other. Pecha was watching them, rubbing her little paws and mumbling something about revenge. Trish sat behind Pecha, ready to peck the little megalomaniac should she try something stupid. Nel was behind Trish, looking around at all of the humans here, her fur standing up on end.

Bane was beside me, also laying on his back and panting like a dog. His fur was uneasily shiny due to the sweat.

"I wonder what my mom is doing today" Bane said out loud.

"You said you hated your mother" I reminded, "The one who stole your money and then left you in the hospital?"

"Not her" Bane said, "My real mother, my Lucario mother"

"Your Lucario mother was your real mother? Uh Bane, I hate to burst your bubble, but you weren't born a Riolu"

"I doesn't matter" Bane said, "She meant more to me then my human mother, and as hard as this is for you to grasp Angel, I haven't thought of my self as a reborn human for a long time. I've thought of myself as a Riolu in every way, and dying as a human was natures way of correcting it"

"Whatever dude" I said, "What do you think your mother is doing?"

"Probably what she's always doing, keeping the Latias temple in good shape, and praying that I have a safe journey. I miss her a lot you know, she meant so much to me" Bane sat up, and looked down at me, "What does your mother mean to you?"

"Well Sylvia Drunken means nothing to me" I said, "And she can go and burn in hell"

"I meant Enfer" Bane said, "I know she's your mother, what does she mean to you?" I froze, completely stunned by this question that had actually come straight out of the blue. "Angel?" I turned my head, and looked over at Enfer. She was asleep at the base of my chair, and she seemed at peace.

"Well uh, Bane"  
"Oh thank Christ" Louis said suddenly, as he stood up. We all turned, to see Michael returning to us, holding three boxes of park balls, and three bags of bate. Pinned to his shirt was a red carnation, matching the one Lisa had, and in contrast to the white one Louis had. On his head was a Panama hat....Dear God.

"Well I got each of us one round in the Safari Zone" Michael said, "Oh, and thanks again for not helping me carry this stuff, it was appreciated" Louis and Lisa finally got the hint, and grabbed some of the balls and bate.

"What's with the hat dude?" Lisa asked.

"I found it at the gift store" Michael said, grinning. "I think it makes me look rugged, and adventures"

"It makes you look like the guy on the sunscreen bottle, only minus the monocle and mustache" Louis said, "You look like a moron"

"I look awesome!" Michael said.

"And I assume you're going to where it the entire time?" Lisa asked wearily.

"Of course I am"

"Thanks for that" She grabbed Louis's hand, and stood up. "We can't do the Safari Zone game thing with you then"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't be seen in public with a moron in a Panama hat"

"You can however afford to be seen in public with Louis" I mumbled, earning a laugh from Bane. Bane suddenly vanished in a red light, along with all of the others except Enfer. Michael grabbed me in his hands, and placed me on the ground.

"Come on Angel, time to go have fun"

* * *

Jason Stryder had worked as a security guard for the Hoenn Safari Zone for as long as he could remember. He was sixty eight years old, slow as a Slugma, and about as threatening as a jello cube.

That being said, one thing Stryder had working for him was his memory. His memory was as sharp as a whip, he could remember the face of anyone working there. Jason guarded the staff entrance to the Safari Zone, which was mainly used for removing things from the Safari Zone. Like old pokeballs, or the occasional carcass.

Every day for as long as he had worked, Stryder had been able to pick out anyone who was allowed to go out that door from those who didn't. Today though, that mistake would greatly cost him.

Stryder first noticed the man coming when he heard the clicking of his shoes. A man in a Safari Zone outfit was coming towards him, but Stryder couldn't see his face. The man was wearing a hat with the brim pulled extra low. In his right hand was a black plastic case.

"Where are you going?" Stryder asked.

"Heading into the zone, to clean up" The man said in a whispered voice. Two things struck Stryder as wrong at once. First, they didn't clean up old pokeballs during the middle of the day, only when trainers were gone. Second, the mans shoes were not standard issue, and thus not allowed to be worn.

"No your not" Stryder said, "Any employee knows you can't go and remove the old pokeballs until the trainers are gone, why are you here?"

"You're not going to let me go?" The man asked.

"Can't do that" The man sighed.  
"Alright, fine" He reached into the bag pocket of his pants, and pulled out a small handgun. Before Stryder could react, the man had grabbed him by the neck, and shoved the gun into his round stomach. The man fired twice, and Stryder went limp.

"I'm sorry" Tagger said, "But you stood in my way, and no one will stop me"

* * *

It was a completely cloudless day, and the sun was at its peak as we headed out into the Safari Zone. Michael was attempting to hold the bag of bate he had gotten, and the box of forty safari balls, with little luck.

"This would be so much easier if I could just use a pokemon!" Michael moaned.

"Uh huh" I said. I could see Enfer walking off with Louis and Lisa, who couldn't stand to be seen with Michael's hat. I was still thinking about Bane's question, what Enfer meant to me.

The thing is, I was mad at Enfer to a certain degree. Mostly because Enfer had still left me with the drunken Duncans. Not only had she left me with them, Enfer had yet to explain to me what her reasoning was for leaving me with them. If I asked, I don't know that she would give me an answer, or the truth.

"Oh crap, Angel look!" Michael said, pointing. A horn was poking out of the grass, the horn of an insect. Of a Heracross.

Now, I don't like Heracross because everyone and their retarded aunt carries a flying-type around. That being said, the point of this Safari game was to find rare pokemon, and Heracross was rare. The giant bug had yet to notice Michael, it didn't seem to care actually. It walked out of the grass, yawning rather loudly.

"Here you go" Michael whispered, tossing out some bate, "Come on, take it" The Heracross, finally noticing us, looked down at the bate. It looked up at Michael, who was smiling. It jumped, horn extended, and struck Michael in the stomach.

Michael hit the ground, the air in his chest going out like a balloon. Being the helpful bitch I was then, I fell on my ass laughing. Michael tried to get a safari ball, but Heracross began to punch him in the chest and in the face.

"Angel! Shadow ball" I sighed.

"You really know how to ruin my fun" I said. I quickly formed the shadow ball, and fired at Heracross, striking it in the side.

Heracross went flying, so far away that I soon couldn't see it. It was shouting the entire time it flew away, and that made me laugh.

"Thanks Angel" Michael said, scratching the backside of my giant ears as he sat up. "How on earth did you get that strong?"

"I don't know" I mumbled, "I just kind of did"

* * *

Tagger had been burned by that awful Milotic creature. It had screwed him up repeatedly, so Tagger had decided to go off on his own again. This time Tagger would go for the more straight foreword approach, he would shoot the bastard.

Tagger had purchased a military grade snipers rifle, guaranteed to hit a target from one thousand yards away. At this moment Tagger was only two hundred yards away, and set up on a hill, looking at Michael. The wind was blowing heavily, and Michael and Angela were both moving targets. Oh well, all the more fun to hit.

Michael had set down on a rock, and pulled out a water bottle. He poured some into Angela's open mouth, but other then that, wasn't moving.

"Now is the best time" Tagger mumbled. He adjusted the scope, and aimed the cross hairs for Michael's chest. He fired.

"Psychic!" Taggers bullet made it a foot out of the barrel of the gun when it was stopped cold. It froze in mid-air, surrounded on all sides by a purple aura. The aura vanished, and the bullet fell to the ground and rolled down the hill.

"Who did that?" Tagger snarled, jumping up and flipping around. On the hill was a large tree, and under the tree was a Gallade, a Salamance, and a human commanding them. Tagger couldn't tell who the human was, but it was female, he knew that much.

"You have no idea what you're doing girl" Tagger snarled, "Garchomp, protect your trainer" Taggers Garchomp appeared beside him, roaring as it appeared. "Dragons breath, lets go"

"Hyper beam" The girl ordered to her Salamance.

Garchomp opened its mouth and released a torrent of purple flames straight at Salamance. Salamance fired a large beam of pure energy at Garchomp, completely destroying the purple flames and striking Garchomp in the face. Garchomp though was stronger then Salamance, and easily brushed off the hyper beam.

Garchomps claws glowed with energy, and it rushed at Salamance. Salamance flew straight up, and all Garchomp got was air. Salamance swooped down and bit Garchomp on the neck, causing Garchomp to shriek in pain.

It swung its neck, tossing Salamance into the ground hard. Salamance slashed at it with dragon claws, drawing blood from the chest. Garchomp fired a dragon pulse at point blank range.

Salamance's eyes went wide as the pulse hit it, cutting straight through its scales. It was bleeding, but it ignored the pain. It had to defeat Tagger and defend its trainer.

"Ice Punch Gallade" The Gallade, which had previously been still, lunged and hit Garchomp in the back. Its fist was coated with ice, that quickly spread onto Garchomp. It punched the dragon a second, and a third time in a row. Garchomp froze from the body up, and the fell over.

"You can't use your Gallade!" Tagger protested.

"Fair play?" The girl asked, "What do you know about that Tagger?" Tagger grinned.

"So you know who I am, but I don't know who you are"

"Something like that" The girl said, "But know this Tagger, I know you're hunting that boy down there, I know you want to kill him. I'm going to protect him though, you don't know what he means to me"

"You can't protect him all of the time" Tagger said. He pulled Garchomp into its pokeball, and then released his Skarmory.

"Stop" The girl half-heartedly protested. Tagger laughed at her.

"Stop me" He said. Tagger grabbed the weapons case, and jumped on Skarmorys back. Skarmory took off, and Tagger had quickly vanished from sight.

"He's wrong" She mumbled, "I can protect them, always can protect them" She was wrong though. Eventually she wouldn't be able to protect them, and would pay heavily for it.

* * *

The Safari game ended not soon enough, with Michael catching absolutely nothing. Now we were waiting in the main building, waiting for Louis and Lisa, who showed up in minutes.

"Lisa has returned" She said, her cane sticking to the floor. "Hold your applause guys, I have returned" She sat down beside me and Michael. "So how many did you catch?"

"Not a single one" Michael said, "All I got was a bruised face, a bruised chest, and a cut nipple"

"You do look really bad" Lisa said, "What happened to your face, you get hit with a sledge hammer"

"Don't ask" Michael groaned, "What happened to you two?"

"I went off into a corner" Louis said, "And I got really drunk. Then I ate the pokemon bate, which actually kind of tastes like shit" We all stood up, and started heading out of the building.

"I caught one of every one in the Safari Zone in two hours" Lisa said, "Which is actually about normal for me"

"You caught one of every pokemon?" Michael cried, "Where are they? Let me see them?" Lisa shrugged.

"I released them all, I had no interest in catching pokemon"

"Of course" Michael moaned, "So we got nothing out of this? Well, I got one thing" He said, speaking of his hat.

"The damn hat?" Lisa asked, "Okay, that's it" She grabbed the hat off of Michael's head and tossed it into the air. "Enfer, do your thing" Enfer released a flame-thrower, and despite Michael's protests, burned the hat to cinders.

"Augh!"

"Even I hated that hat" I said. I looked back at Enfer "That was awesome"

"Thanks" Enfer said.

"What do you mean to me?" I mumbled to myself. I would ask my self that several times over the next few weeks. That's a story for another day though.


	95. Buzzsaw

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**IXCV: Buzzsaw**

It was a cold day when we finally made it into Lillycove. I can not believe I just said that. It's true though, Lillycove is a cold city, due to the constant ocean breeze blowing through the city. It also rained constantly, and the entire city was damp when we finally rolled in. On top of that it was cloudy, and looked like it could rain at any minute.

"God this place sucks" Louis mumbled under his breath. Louis looked like death twice warmed over. He was wearing sunglasses and a ballcap pulled down tight. His clothing was dirtier then usual, and stained with booze. His skin was blotchy, after having not slept for a few days. Now we we're going to see his father, and Louis was chugging down mini-bottles of scotch.

"You lived in Lillycove" Michael said, "I thought you liked it"

"Yeah right" Louis whispered, "Why in the fuck hell would I want to be here?" Lilly cove is a hill filled coastal city, and every street we walked on either went straight up or straight down. Right now we were headed up, according to Louis his house was built on one of the highest hills in town.

"I wanted to visit Lillycove" Enfer said behind me, "I hoped to one day take a cruise around the world, and it would leave from Lillycove. Plus this city was beautiful in my opinion, so green, and alive"

"Pecha needs to take this city!" Pecha said, "Pecha will have control over the sea in Chutopia (Pecha's name for Hoenn). Pecha will rule all shipping in Hoenn, then Rush will love me! New Chu Order!"

"Take a shot" Bane mumbled. "I never preformed Lillycove, mostly because I never preformed in Hoenn"

"I don't like this city" I said, "Way to close to the god damn ocean. I can smell it from here"

"I'm with you" Wisp replied, "I don't like the water, I could get killed in the rain for fuck's sake!" The sidewalk underneath us was missing large chunks, and we walked on damp grass and mud. Most of the city was down the hills from us, even the department store was down from us. We would pass the occasional house as we walked up the hill, but no cars on the road.

"I'm meeting Louises dad" Nel whispered over and over again. I could hear her thanks to my super hearing. "I'm meeting my trainers dad. I never knew my dad" She continued to hyperventilate. "The ocean is to close! It's out to get us!" Nel shrieked.

"See, even Nel knows the truth" I said.

"The ocean is not out to get you" Enfer said to me. I sighed, and looked back at her.

"That's what you think" I mumbled. I was still mulling over Bane's question, what did Enfer mean to me. She didn't give me a reason for leaving me, I knew though it was because she killed her husband, but why did she do that? Because she snapped? Because she was being abused? Enfer could have divorced her husband, and I wouldn't have had to live with the drunken Duncans. The thing is, I didn't blame her, I didn't know how I felt. I was glad she loved me, but I couldn't call her mom yet. Fucking emotional merry-go-round.

"Fuck, we're here" I heard Louis growl. We were near the top of the hill, facing a long brick driveway. Their was a mail box at the end that read Adalian. At the top of the drive way was a two story, modern looking house.

Evidently breaking arms for a living paid very well.

We headed up the driveway, and I remember the bricks were slick with rain water. The yard was perfect in every possible way, but if you dug into the dirt, blood would bubble out probably. The front door was red and had a Luxray door knocker. Louis paused a moment, before knocking on the door.

Now Joseph "Buzzsaw" Adalian had been arrested nineteen times at that time in connections to various activities of the Hoenn Mafia. Officially Joseph was a shoe salesman, or a boat salesman, I forget which. All it meant was he fitted you with cement shoes and took you on a one way boat ride.

With a man like that, you expect him to look evil. Hell, I had expected him to look creepy, to look like a Mafioso, to actually look like a gangster. Maybe like one of those gangsters from the 30's, wearing a pinstripe suit and carrying a tommy gun. When Buzzsaw Adalian answered the door, my illusions were shattered.

Adalian was almost a head shorter then Michael, meaning he may have stood five feet tall. His face was narrow, and bony. To me he looked like a giant, but anyone looks like a giant to me. He was bald on the top of his head, with only some wisps of hair left. He had a small goatee, and a small mustache. He had glasses with octagonal frames, and they needed to be washed. He was wearing a button up white shirt, an ugly tie, black pants, and really shiny shoes. He didn't look like a guy who cut people up for a living, he looked like a fucking accountant.

"Louis?" Buzzsaw asked, "What are you doing here son? I didn't know you were coming by" He looked at Michael and Lisa, "Hello Michael and...friend of Louis"

"It was unexpected" Louis grumbled.

"Well come inside Louis" He looked at us, "And friends of Louis. I need you to put your pokemon into their balls, only Enfer is allowed out"

"Angel doesn't have a ball" Michael said.

"....Who?" Michael pointed down at me, "...Fine, but keep her off of my furniture" Every one around me was consumed in a red ball of light, as I followed Michael and Louis into the house. "You came at a most inopportune time, I have company"

"We can leave" Louis began.

"No don't worry, I'll send him away" Buzzsaw said, leading us into the kitchen. "It's Dr. Pimble. You remember him right? He did your braces" In the kitchen their was pudgy man with white hair running his hands under cold water at the kitchen sink. Their even from my height I could see several burns on his hands. Oh boy.

"Hey Dr. Pimble" Louis said.

"Hello Louis" Dr. Pimble said, forcing a smile.

"Didn't you loose your business to gambling?" Louis asked.

"Y-yes I did Louis, but your father is helping me with my gambling problems" He smiled again. "He's such a good friend"

"Happy to help" Buzzsaw said, "But I think you should be going"

"But my hands!" Dr. Pimble cried. Buzzsaw gave him a dark look, and the ex-orthodontist sighed. "Good-bye Louis"

As soon as Pimble had left, Buzzsaw shut off the water in the sink, and then lead us back into the living room. The room was dark and smelled of old cigars, weather or not that was a good thing is a personal opinion I suppose. The carpet was plush, and my little legs sunk into it as I walked. The furniture was leather, and smelled a bit like a butchers shop.

"So Louis" Buzzsaw began as he sat down in a chair, while Michael and the other two sat down on a couch. Me and Enfer sat on the floor at the base of the couch. Enfer seemed uncomfortable here. "How have things been for you? I thought you were still in Oldale town, working as a mail man or something"

"An ice cream man dad" Louis said.

"Ah yes, an ice cream man" Buzzsaw pulled a cigar out of somewhere, I think the same place Louis stores his bottles of booze. He lit it up, and took a slow drag, "You've really reached your full potential, haven't you Louis?" Louis mumbled something, and curled his fingers around the leather of the couch. "Oh well, I suppose it doesn't matter. How have you been?"

"Do you actually care?" Louis asked.

"I dunno, should I?" He asked, taking another drag. "You know, I put up with a lot Louis, but one thing I don't like is unexpected visitors. Why are you here?"

"I'm here because of Michael and Lisa" Louis said.

"Who is Lisa?" Buzzsaw asked.

"That would be me" She said, raising her hand. Buzzsaw looked her up and down, then shrugged.

"Are you fucking my son?"

"What!?"

"Because if he's not mounting you nightly, I don't care about you" Buzzsaw said. "Now why are you here in Lillycove"

"We're just passing through" Michael said, "I'm doing"

"I don't remember speaking to you" Buzzsaw said, "I remember addressing my son. Louis, why are you here?"

"I'm traveling with Michael" He said, "He's doing the Hoenn gym challenge thing. Me and Lisa are following him because, well, we've got nothing better to do"

"Right" Buzzsaw said, "Well you need to find something better to do Louis, this gym challenge thing is pointless. Pokemon battling in general is for kids with more money then brain cells" I started to summon a shadow ball, but Enfer swatted me.

"What?"

"I know how you feel" Enfer said, "But believe me, shadow balling this piece of shit is not going to help things. I lived in this house for eight years, that was when Louis was ten" She paused, "Bridgett was still around then"

"Whose Bridgett?"

"Louises mom"

* * *

"Good lord" Michael said, setting his bag down on the bed, "A few minutes in the room with that man and I feel like I've been in a pig sty" Buzzsaw had several guest rooms since he lived alone, and so we were staying in one for a few days until we could get a boat ride to Mossdeep. Until then, we were stuck with Buzzsaw. "I don't get it, Louis wanted more then anyone not to be here. After we've been here an hour though, I suggest we go to a motel, his dad says we should stay here, and Louis agrees. Why is that?" Lisa, who was in the room with us, shrugged.

"I dunno, his dad has a weird hold over him. I'm not joking Louis is acting weirder then usual. He's quiet, and sullen"

"With how he's been lately" Michael said, "I'm not shocked. He's been drinking a lot, even for him. Ever since Fortree, or right before Fortree"

"I can't explain why" Lisa said.

"Yeah, well his dad isn't helping things" Michael said. "Yeesh, I still smell like cheap cigars. All I did was sit on that damn couch and the smell followed me when I left"

"Oh I know" Lisa said, "I'll be washing my hair for a week straight just to get it out. I'm more upset though about Wisp, Pecha, Shu and Streak. The four of them are stuck in their balls, I really hate that"

"No one is sad about Pecha being in a ball" I mumbled.

"You know what's most disturbing about this?" Michael asked, "I mean about ole Buzzsaw? When he looks at you"

"It looks like he's looking into your soul" Lisa said, "I know what you mean" Lisa sighed. "Oh well, I'm going to the Lillycove department store tomorrow, and I suppose your going to look for boat rides"

"Yeah, if you want to come with me we can do that at once, prolong the amount of time we're here"

"That would be fun" Lisa said. "Maybe Louis will come with us. Speaking of which, where is he?"

* * *

Joseph Adalian had installed a swimming pool into his back yard when Louis was six, despite the fact they lived in an ocean town, and Louis didn't like swimming. Louis had been in it maybe four times in his entire life, and didn't plan on ever getting in again. Right now he stood in front of the pool, staring at his own reflection.

"I remember Momma" Louis whispered, "I remember everything. I know what he did to you, and I'm sorry Momma. I'm even more sorry that I ran away, and I can't change that. I can make it up though. I'm going to get him though, I swear to you" Louis began to cry, "I'm sorry"

* * *

We ended up eating dinner with Buzzsaw. Me and Enfer were not allowed to eat in the house, and we were told that we would have to sleep outside. Enfer told me she would keep me warm, but it didn't matter, it pissed me off.

I didn't want to sleep outside, I didn't want to miss dinner, and I didn't want to be here. It was like being punished for existing. Buzzsaw ended up cooking dinner for them, some strange kind of pasta dish that smelled fantastic. It was ruined though by the fact that when we walked into the kitchen, I'm not joking, Buzzsaw was wearing a pink apron and pink oven mitts.

I remind people this man is a contract killer.

"So Louis" Buzzsaw said, "What are you going to do when your cousin finishes this journey of stupidity?"

"Pokemon battling isn't stupid" Michael growled, causing Buzzsaw to laugh.

"Sure it is Michael, you're just to young and petulant to see the truth" Michael as petulant? Michael, the least rebellious teenager ever, who would rather talk then fight, as petulant. It was all I could do not to laugh.

"Dad, I would rather not discuss my plans" Louis said.

"Sure you would" Louis sighed.

"Okay, well I don't know what I'm going to do with my life after this. Something, I know I'll do something"

"Drive another ice cream truck into a swimming pool?" Lisa asked, causing Lou to laugh. The comment though caused Buzzsaw to choke, sadly this did not kill him.

"What did you do?" Buzzsaw snarled.

"Nothing, last year I accidentally drove my ice cream truck into a swimming pool" Louis said.

"Were you drunk?" Someone above me sighed.

"What does that matter?"

"I need to know if you were drunk" Buzzsaw said, an edge in his voice.

"Yeah dad, I was drunk. We had just talked the last night, so I needed to be drunk"

"I'm not surprised" He said, "Just a fucking drunk like your mother" A fist slammed against the table.

"Don't you say that!" Louis shrieked. "Mom wasn't a drunk"

"She was a fucking drunk, and a loser who wasn't happy till she ran away. Well congratulations, you are definitely your mothers son, you fucking mommas boy" At this I saw Louis knock his chair back and storm off, mumbling under his breath. "Sorry about that unpleasantness" Buzzsaw said, "It couldn't be helped"

* * *

The stars can't be seen in Lillycove due to the heavy light pollution, except on some hills. The sky above us was cloudy, and was probably going to rain, making sleep impossible. Enfer was asleep, and I had my body pressed against her fiery fur.

I could see the house from were I was, and had a perfect view of the windows on the second floor. Most of them were off, except the one for Louises room. I could see his black outline walking around, and could see it leave the room.

Where the hell was he going?

* * *

Louis waited till Lisa was asleep, and even then he was careful. He spent five minutes standing in front of her door, ten minutes opening it, and another five walking across the room. He made his way to her bag, knowing exactly what he needed.

"I'll get him Momma" Louis whispered, pulling out her handgun. "Not tonight, but tomorrow. I swear Momma, I'll kill him for you"


	96. Adalian Inferno

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**IXCVI: Adalian Inferno**

"My bag feels lighter" Lisa said.

"You're just imagining it" Michael said.

It was the next morning, and everything in Lilycove was soaked through, courtasy of the down pour from the night before. Me and Enfer were with Michael and Lisa, Enfer unwilling to stay with Louis and Buzzsaw, and Louis also wanted her out. Enfer had little cuts in her fur, also from the rain, and she was breathing heavily.

"You alright?" I asked. Enfer sighed, then nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine" Enfer said, "I'm a level one hundred, I'm not going to be defeated by a little rain fall, that would be to easy"

"If you say so" I said. I nuzzled against her, "I love you" She smiled down at me.

"I love you to Angela" Enfer said to me. Slowly the line we were in moved forward, and we moved along with it.

We were in line to buy tickets on any ship traveling to Mossdeep. The thing was that their were people here to buy tickets to pretty much any destination on the planet, meaning we had a long time to wait.

"What was it like?" I asked Enfer.

"Excuse me?"

"What was it like living in that house?" I began, "With that man, and with Louis?" Enfer looked off as I asked this question. "Enfer, tell me"

"I't wasn't pleasent Angela" Enfer said to me, "It was a miserable house. Joseph wasn't an abusive father, well not abusive in the physical sense. He never once layed a hand on Louis, in anger or joy. He was a cold man, a neglectful man, but the neglect was intentional. It was how he showed supperiority over Louis I suppose"

"Was it always like that?" I asked. Enfer shook her head rappidly.

"Their once was a time where their was happyness in that house, but Joseph still wasn't responsible for it. Rather, Bridgette was responsible for any happyness in that house. She was like a light house in a stormy night, she gave light to us all, and she gave us a rock to cling to. I needed a rock then, I had only just been reborn"

"What happened to her?" We moved foreward once again.

"I have no idea" Enfer said, "She just vannished. Louis claims that Joseph killed him, he's probably right. Joseph claims that Bridgette ran out on him, and while she was cheating on him, I don't think that's why she left" We moved foreward again.

"How can you tell?" Enfer's face clouded over, as she recalled some very painful memory.

"The next day, in the living room I could smell it. I couldn't see it, but I could smell it through the carpet. Blood, not just some, but such a strong stench of blood that it knocked me over"

"I couldn't smell anything"

"It was years ago Angel. Even if it wasn't years ago, he had new carpeting put in, plus the stench of over two thousand cigars being lit up in that room. That's all I can smell now"

"I know" I said, "Those things are aweful, I choked on the air when I was in there"

"I think you're missing the point" Enfer stated.

"Their was a point?" She laughed.

"Give me a moment, I'll get to it" Enfer said, "The point is that, that house is a miserable place, one that makes Louis so unhappy. Their is no way we can ever know for sure if Bridgette was murdered or not, Joseph is more then smart enough to cover it up. The less time we spend at that house, the better for us"

* * *

Louis was in the room that had been his when he was a child, wishing that he had a joint, or a bottle. Someway to escape reality, someway to just not be in this house, if only for a few hours. He was lying on a bed he was much to large to sleep in any more, staring at the ceiling.

He had gone down stairs earlier to see his father, who had regarded him with a cold indiference. The man was a heartless bastard, but Louis didn't care about that. He didn't care about anything anymore, all he cared about what was going to happen that night.

"I'm going to get you" Louis said, working hard not to laugh as he did, "I'm going to kill you, you evil bastard. You know it though don't you? Of course you do, you were always so smart, and I was such a fucking loser" Louis had Lisa's gun in his hands, rubbing the barrel of it. It felt powerful in his hand, it would be how he would finaly get his vengance. "I can wait all day father, but I'll get what I want"

* * *

"I just want one!" Lisa cried, as Michael attempted to drag her away.

"No! No lottery tickets! You have a problem"

"It isn't a problem if I always win!" Lisa shrieked. Michael continued to drag her away from the front counter of the Lillycove Department Store first floor. He finaly maneged to drag her into an elevator, me and Enfer following behind. The elivator was empty, lucky for us.

"Crap you're strong" Michael wheezed.

"You didn't need to do that"

"Didn't I?" It had taken four hours to get up to the ticket counter, and we were able to get three rooms on a passenger ship headed to Mossdeep in two days. That would be the ship that would change everything, but more on that later.

"What do you even want to look at while we're out here?" Lisa shrugged.

"New clothes, maybe an ivory handeled revolver" Michael sighed.

"Why are you such a gun nut?"

"I'm not a gun nut! I am a gun enthusiast!" Lisa whined.

"She's a gun nut" Both me and Enfer said. We ended up on a floor with wall to wall clothing that I wouldn't wear if you payed me to. While Lisa ran over to a rack of ugly looking shiny things, Michael, Enfer, and I walked over to the window. It was another cloudy day in Lillycove, and it could start a down pour at any moment.

"Two gyms left" Michael mumbled, "Two gyms then the Hoenn Pokemon Leauge Championship. Then what? What happens after its done?" Sensing Michael was upset, I walked over to him and rubbed against his legs. He looked down at me and smiled, then picked me up.

"Thanks Angel" Michael murmered. "I just wish...I dunno. What happens in the tourament? What happens when I have to face Robin? Christ, I don't even know how I feel for her. She helped me a lot in Petalburg, fuck man"

"Umbre?" Michael looked down at me, smiling softly.

"It's okay Angel, I don't mean to dump my problems on you" He began scratching me behind my giant ears. "I just, I dunno" Michael stopped talking, and we stared out the window in silence.

* * *

Nine hours later we were back at Buzzsaw's house. I was up in Michael's room, and my stomach was grumbling like crazy. The only meal I had had in two days had been a small thing of pokefood earlier this afternoon. They had already had dinner, and I had been forced to sit there and watch them eat again. Michael was paking his bag, leaving out only a change of clothing for tomorrow.

"The moment I get to leave, I'm out of here" Michael said, grinning. "Tomorrow I'll sleep in my clothes, just because I can pack all my stuff up in the morning. The ship leaves at eleven, we'll leave the house at six"

"No arguments here" I mumbled. A loud shriek suddenly rang out, causing me and Michael to jump.

"What on earth was that?" Michael asked, heading out of the room and followed behind by me. The source of the noise was the living room, where Lisa, Louis, and Buzzsaw were. Buzzsaw was on the ground, and Lisa was attempting to beat him with her cane. Occasionaly he would manedge to block a blow, but she had gotten several good hits in.

"Lisa!" Michael exclaimed, grabbing her and pulling her off. "What happened?" She turned to him, gritting her teeth.

"This dick wipe grabbed my ass"

"I did not!" Buzzsaw protested.

"Liar!" She hit him again in the head with her cane. Michael grabbed her cane, finaly forcing her to stop hitting him. Michael then looked at the sniveling mobster.

"Is this true?" Buzzsaw shrugged at Michael.

"What if it is?" He asked. "It's my house, I can do what I want!" Michael hit Buzzsaw in the chest with the cane, knocking the air out of him. Lisa then picked it up, but couldn't hit him again.

"You grabbed my ass" Lisa growled, "I'll call a cab, I'm spending the night at a motel" Lisa stormed out of the room, followed by Louis. Michael sighed, and turned his back to Buzzsaw.

"Come on Angel, lets go to bed"

"Hey! That filthy creature sleeps outside!"

"Make it"

* * *

Lisa got the number for a cab company in Lillycove from Louis, and had a cab coming in ten minutes.

"Are you sure I can't convince you to come with me?" Lisa asked. Louis shook his head slowly.

"Michael's asleep, I'll stay here with him" Louis said, perfectly hiding his lie. Lisa sighed, and nodded.

"I shouldn't have said we should come here" Lisa said, "I mean, when he insulted pokemon training was a major warning flag, but I ignored it, I don't know why, I" Louis kissed her, causing her to stop obssessing. He finaly broke the kiss, letting her catch her breath.

"Thanks" Lisa said.

"No problem" Louis said. "Go on, we'll see you tomorrow" Lisa walked away from him, pausing in the door way, "Go!"

"Thanks Lou"

* * *

Joseph Adalian watched as the taxi that the blonde woman called, pulled into his driveway. He watched as it pulled away, before pulling out a cigar and lit up. Smoke wafted around his head, and he breathed it in.

"Fuck her" Joseph mumbled, walking over to a table with a tray of liqoure on it. He kept gin, rye, and scotch on it, in fancy bottles with glasses set up beside them. He poured himself a glass of scotch, and quickly took a sip. "Does she know just how many women would give their right breasts to spend a night with me?"

"Yeah, none" Joseph spun around, to see Louis standing in the doorway behind him. In his hand was a small, black hand gun.

"Son, what are you doing?" Joseph asked. "Why do you have that gun? You been drinking boy?"

"No daddy" Louis growled, "I've not been drinking, I'm stone cold sober" He grinned, "Now I'm going to kill you"

"What did you say to me boy!?"

"I said" Louis raised the gun, "I'm going to kill you" Joseph, acting foolishly, grabbed one of the glass bottles and tossed it at Louis. Louis moved his head out of the way and let the bottle smash in the hall way.

"That will have woken up your cousin boy" Joseph said, "He'll be down here in a minute"

"Michael couldn't hear a thing up there" Louis snarled, "I'm going to kill you daddy, for what you did. Remember that night dad? It was a September night, an unusualy warm one. I remember because I felt sick. I woke up, and walked down stairs because I wanted momma. You know what I saw?"

Joseph was silent, his eyes fixated on the gun. He knew exactly what happened after that.

"You and momma were in the living room. Momma was on her knees, and her back was to you, you had a butchers knife at her throat. You were stroaking her hair, you sick fucker you were stroaking her hair. You were talking to her, you know what you said?"

_"Beg bitch" Joseph whispered to Bridgette. "Beg for your life you cock-sucking cunt. Beg for the life of that little bastard upstairs"_

"No" Joseph said, "I've got no idea what I said in this sick little fantasy of yours. Put the damn gun down Louis"

"NO!" Louis shouted. "I'm not going to put the gun down! Fuck the gun, and fuck you!" Louis pulled the trigger.

-click-

Clinking, the sound of no bullets in the chamber. Louis looked down at the gun, then back up at Joseph who laughed at him.

"You're such a loser" Joseph said, "You're not a man. You'd have to be a man to use that pea shooter, you'd have to be a man to remember to load the fucking gun!" Louis screamed. He dropped the gun, and ran at Joseph, hitting him in the stomach.

"Get off of me!" The two toppled over the tabel, smashing the bottles of booze on the ground, and knocking the cigar out of Joseph's hand. It fell into the puddle of liqour, and ignited almost immedietly. Louis and Joseph didn't notice though, they had rolled away and were currently beating each other.

"You were always a little bastard" Joseph growled, attempting to strangle Louis. Louis slammed his knee into his fathers groin. Joseph gasped, then collapsed, allowing Louis to flip him over and begin to punch him. Neither noticed that the flames had rappidly spread into the hall, and up the stairs, nor did they notice the smoke.

"Die!" Louis screamed, punching his father again, "Die damn you die" He punched Joseph a second time, then a third, until bones crunched, and blood began to flow. Joseph went limp, not dead but out cold. Louis stood up, and looked down at his father. He could end it all right now, but then...

"I can't" Louis mumbled, "If I do, then I'll be no better then him. You get to keep your life, choke on it" Louis turned around, to see the hallway and part of the room ablaze. "Oh my God, Michael!"

* * *

"Michael?" I asked. I pulled my head up sleepily, to see smoke pouring up from the ground. Michael had also woken up. He pulled himself up on the bed woozily.

"Crap, fire" Michael said. He stood up, took a step, and collapsed as smoke continued to fill the room.

"Michael!" I jumped to the ground and tried to nudge him up. "Michael, you've gotta get up. You-you've gotta...So tired" I passed out.


	97. Anything Goes

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**ICVII: Anything Goes**

"Turn around" Lisa called to the cab driver.

"Excuse me?" The driver asked.

"Turn around, I forgot my gun"

"You're gun?!"

"Purely defensive" Lisa said, "I always sleep with it under my pillow when I sleep in a motel, it gives me a feeling of protection" The cab driver was clearly nervous, "What?"

"You want me to drive back to Buzzsaw Adalian's torture asylum"

"I'll throw in an extra twenty if you get me there in five" That was all she got out before the cab driver made a hard U-turn.

* * *

Michael was awoken to the sensation of flames tickling the skin on his face. _Ignore it, it can wait_, he thought to himself. Nothing mattered except sinking into the dark, warm abyss. Except...he couldn't breath. He couldn't breath because of the smoke, smoke all around him, the house on fire!

"F-fire?" Michael mumbled, cracking his eyes open. "The house is on fire, gotta go, gotta get" He pushed himself up and began to craw over to the nightstand. It was about the hardest thing he had ever done in his life. Michael's limbs felt like went cement, he couldn't even lift his head up. Five pokeballs on the nightstand, Michael knew which one he needed.

Michael collapsed in front of the nightstand. He managed to reach his arm and smacked his hand on one pokeball, causing the pokemon inside to emerge. "Titan...help" Michael passed out again, as Titan emerged in the flaming house.

"What time is it? I need a blow" Titan looked around confused, "Wow, house is on fire. This isn't good is it" He looked down at the unconscious Michael, then over at the unconscious me. "Very not good" Titan bent over and scooped up the four remaining pokeballs in his mouth, then grabbed Michael in one arm, and me in the other. "Geronamo!" Titan ran, head down into the door way.

One thing Titan hadn't counted on, was the weakened weight of the flaming house. Titan hit the doorway, and the floor collapsed underneath him. "Crap" Titan landed in the living room of the house, beside the unconscious Buzzsaw.

"Michael!" Louis ran into the living room, to see Titan and us sitting there. He froze in his place, confused by the giant stone-lizard thing, the hole in the flaming roof, and the unconscious Michael and me under Titan's arms. "Uh, Michael?" The glass door in the kitchen shattered. A moment later Enfer charged into the room, ready to save the day. "Enfer?"

"What's going on?" Enfer asked, although only Titan and me understood. "Never mind, I'll grab Joseph, Titan go out through the kitchen" Titan charged, through the flaming walls and doors. He was followed behind by Louis, and Enfer dragging Buzzsaw. Titan slammed through the walls, into the out doors, air rushing across mine and Michael's bodies.

"Hope this wakes you up" Titan said through a full mouth, tossing us into the swimming pool, the pool Louis despised. I felt my little body crash into the water, it cooling me and waking me up. My eyes bolted open, and I kicked to the top of the pool, gasping for air. I looked around at the pool, the smoking house, Titan, Enfer, and Louis.

"Michael, oh my God Michael!?" Michael's head emerged from the water, coughing and sputtering.

"Oh God, Angel?" Michael swam over and grabbed my trembling body. I think I was crying, I'm not entirely certain. Michael held me against his chest and kissed my head, as the house behind us collapsed.

* * *

Lisa arrived at the house just in time to see it collapse from the destruction of the fire and Titan plowing through the walls. She managed to call the police, and an hour later the fire was out, and the police were speaking to every one here. Michael had an oxygen mask around his face (which he didn't need), and I had a tiny one around my snout (which I also didn't need). I think we were sitting in an ambulance, I was a tad disorientated.

"Mr. Luccelli, we need to examine your Umbreon" Someone said, "We need to administer a sedative" Michael attempted to protest, and then I felt a prick.

Preeeeety liiiiiiights!

* * *

A few hours passed (I think), and my head felt like it was full of oatmeal. I was warm, warm?

"Fire!" I shrieked. I tried to jump up, but only my body responded, my head staying on the soft ground. It was then that I realized my body was pinned by something large and warm. I opened my mouth to see a orange and black furred mass wrapped around me, Enfer curled up around me. Even though her eyes were closed, I could see movement under them. She was whispering something.

"I'm sorry Chris" She mumbled, "Can't get you back"

"Who the hell is Chris?" I asked. Enfer was fast asleep though so I decided to leave her like that. Looking around we were in some kind of dark room, I think a hotel room. Michael was asleep under the covers, but I could see he was still fully dressed.

Their were two beds in the room, the other one had two masses on it. One was under the covers and snoring loudly, had to be Lisa. The other one was sitting on the edge of the bed, head in hands, crying so soft someone without my super hearing might not have heard it.

"Oh God, what have I done momma?" Louis was crying, "What have I done? Damn it, Michael almost died momma, oh God" Louis set the fire? How the hell did he do that? Why would he do that? What would motivate him? My legs buckled, to tired to think, more sleep now.

* * *

The house was a pile of cinders the next day, now damp cinders because of the rain fall. They said the house might not have collapsed had Titan smashed through the walls and through other shit. All of us, including Buzzsaw were at the house, along with arson investigators and an insurance investigator. I noticed several members of the police wink at Buzzsaw, shake his hand, and barely mull around the scene of the fire.

Lisa and Louis walked off separate from me, Michael, and Enfer, as we walked through the cinders of the house. It should have been a crime scene, and we should have been standing outside of a taped off line. A quick wink-wink from Buzzsaw though and we were in.

"I have no idea what I'm even looking for" Michael said, "I guess I'm looking for my bag, which probably burned up in a fire. They said Titan had the other pokeballs in his mouth, he's about the smartest Aggron I could hope for"

"Whose he talking to?" I asked Enfer.

"I don't think it matters" Enfer responded. We walked through what had once been the kitchen. Some very burned pipes were sticking out of the ground, with a smashed sink in front of them. The fridge was all that remained of one wall, with the exception of a few burns it was untouched.

"I heard Louis talking last night" I said to Enfer. Michael stepped over a large piece of black garbage, while I made a running jump over it.

"About what?" Enfer asked. She paused in front of an archway that was still standing at the bottom, the top was completely missing.

"Setting the fire" I said. I looked back at Enfer, expecting some kind of reaction. All I got was mild annoyance from her.

"I'm not surprised" Enfer said after a moment. "Louis hates his father, hates him for the thing he can't even prove his father did! One thing does shock me though"

"What?" Enfer leaned against the remains of the archway as Michael began to sift through the rubble, looking for something.

"What would surprise me would be if Louis set the fire intentionally. Louis, for all the things you could say about him, at his heart is harmless. Louis couldn't murder his father, even if he wanted to. Also, Louis loves Michael, he loves Michael and Lisa much more the he love's himself. If he wanted to kill his father he wouldn't set the house on fire, and risk harming Michael"

"How do you know?" Enfer smiled.

"I've been with him for sixteen years, since he was ten. I know him better then anyone since Bridgett has known him. I even predicted that he would crash his ice cream truck the day he drove it into that swimming pool. I couldn't have predicted this, it had to be an accident"

"Or Buzzsaw set his house ablaze"

"Maybe" We watched as Michael found the strap to his bag sticking out of the pile of rubble. He pulled on it, to find that it was attached to nothing and was burned off at the end.

"Enfer" I said, "Who is Chris?"

"Oh my gosh!" Michael called out. By now he had almost entirely pulled apart the rubble, and found what was left of his bag. All that was left were a few burned scraps, a ruined set of clothing, and an untouched book.

_Reincarnation and The Role of Legendaries in Christian, Jewish, and Islamic Mythology._

"Everything else in my bag was destroyed!" Michael said, "This one survived? It's not even warm, how is it okay?"

"Why did we need to go off separate?" Lisa asked, concern lacing her voice, "Lou, what's wrong? What happened to you?" Louis sat down on what had once been his front porch. Lisa sat down beside him and put her arm around his shoulder, "Come on, loop me in stoned one" Louis scowled, "What?"

"I haven't had a joint in a month" Louis said, "Please I'm begging you, do not call me stoned one. I did it for you"

"You gave up pot for me? Well if you didn't notice you also started boozing for me"

"That had nothing to do with me" Louis snarled, causing Lisa to pull her arm back. "A month ago, you know what happened? You remember what happened?" Lisa turned away from him, looking down at her knees.

"Yeah, I told you the story that began the darkest period of my life, I said I loved you, and you said nothing" She looked over at him wearily. "Why did you say nothing?"

"You know how many people have told me they loved me?" Louis asked, "Two. You and my mother have told me that, not even my father has ever bothered. When you said it...It" Louis moved his mouth, but no noise came out. "It catapulted me back. Suddenly I knew I would be in Lillycove again, and have to see that man again and, and" Louis blinked back tears, and Lisa grasped his hand. "I just couldn't take it"

"Take what?" Louises eyes were wide as dinner plates, and he shook his head so fast you thought it would have popped off. "Louis!" She grabbed his head and pointed it at hers, "What happened Louis?" She let go, and Louis turned straight ahead, his eyes going glassy.

"It was a warm night, a night in September. I always hated September, its such a bland month isn't it? I had the flu I think, I was bed ridden. I couldn't-I couldn't do anything. Dad said I wasn't to leave my bed, and he wouldn't come to see me. Momma, she took care of me, tried to make me feel as good as I could.

"I couldn't get to sleep that night, I was aching so badly. Anything that touched my skin other then the covers hurt me, and the cold air nearly set me on fire with pain. I made it down the stairs somehow. I'm still not sure how exactly, my legs weren't moving when I told them to move. I got down to the bottom of the stairs, I was breathing so heavily I remember that. I think I was sweating, I'm not sure.

"I saw my momma down there, and my dad. He had her on her knees, and he was standing behind her, stroking her hair with one hand. Something else was in his other hand...fuck I didn't know what it was. I couldn't do anything but sit there, I was mesmerized"

"Lou"

"Shut up! I'm not done yet" Louis said, regaining his composure. "I watched as he whispered to her, about how he knew she had been cheating on him, on how he wouldn't let her take me from him. It wasn't because he cared about me, it was because he didn't want someone else to have me. He wanted momma to beg, that bastard got a stiffy from having her beg! Momma did, and you know what the fucker did? Ha ha!" Louis let out a crazy laugh, "He cut her fucking throat"

"Oh Christ Lou" Lisa grabbed him and let Louis bury his head into her shoulder. Louis wept, and Lisa hugged him, neither saying a word until Buzzsaw showed up.

"Well I'm done talking to them" Buzzsaw said, "We decided that the fire was an accident, caused by a leaky gas pipe and a spark from my fridge compressor" Lisa opened her mouth to say something, but Louis stopped her. He looked up at Buzzsaw, confused.

"We know that isn't true dad" Louis said, "Why are you covering it up?"

"The insurance will cover it" Buzzsaw said, "I can rebuild. When I do, I never want to see any of you again" He pointed, "Get the hell off of my property, all of you"

* * *

It was night again, and we were back at the hotel. I was laying on Michael's chest, and he began to stroke my fur. He was reading that reincarnation book with a vigor I had never seen.

"Why are you reading that?" Lisa asked.

"Nothing else of mine survived" Michael said, "No clothing, not even my extra bandana"

"That book isn't even burned!" Lisa said.

"I know"

"I set my house on fire" We all looked over at Louis, who had begun talking for the first time since was arrived at the hotel. "It was an accident, but I set the damn thing on fire. I went down to kill my father" He looked Lisa in the eyes, "With your gun"

"You stole my gun!?"

"I needed it to shoot my father" Louis said, "But the gun wasn't loaded"

"Of course not, I don't keep it loaded when it's in my bag, for fear I'll shoot myself"

"Well I ended up getting into a fight with my father, and I couldn't kill him. During our fight, I knocked his cigar into a puddle of spilled booze. It went up like dry Christmas tree, and the house went with it" We all froze as Louis finished talking. Michael spoke up first.

"Then why did your dad cover for you?" Louis sighed.

"Because he has that over me forever. He owns me now, I can't tell what he did, and he knows that"

* * *

As we talked, Buzzsaw sat in the ruins of his burned up house. One of his chairs had survived, along with two cigars. The only light came from the end of his cigar. From where he sat, Buzzsaw could see his swimming pool.

"They'll never find out will they Bridg?" Buzzsaw asked, "Even Louis doesn't know where I put you. He doesn't remember me digging up part of the pool, I told him it was to repair a crack. Ha, that boy of yours was an idiot" Buzzsaw puffed out a large cloud of smoke. "I'm going to get away with it Bridgett, I'm always going to get away with it" Buzzsaw laughed, his laugh echoing through out the burned out cinders of his house.


	98. The Cruise

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**ICVIII: The Cruise**

I hate the ocean, you know that my dear listener. Even to this day looking at it causes me to black out from intense fear. Its natural that I hate riding on a boat in the ocean, and I thought I would hate this one. I was wrong my dear listener, so wrong.

This was the ship that would change everything. I just didn't know it.

* * *

"Save Russian Jews, Collect Valuable Prizes" I read, "Who would graffiti that onto a building?"

"What's Russian?" Rush asked.

"You've got me" I said. Both me and Wisp had our bodies pressed against Rush, if we fell into the ocean he could save us. Rush of course was completely oblivious to our fear, or not the least bit concerned. I on the other hand was shaking like a paint mixer.

We were currently standing in an extremely long line slowly walking onto our large cruise ship. Small pokemon were allowed out of their balls, which meant Sharon, Titan, and L3 had to be put up. Enfer wouldn't qualify as small, but of course she didn't have a ball.

"Me and Stephanie wanted to take a cruise" Lisa said, leaning against the base of the on ramp, "I always loved the ocean"

"Whose Stephanie?" Louis asked.

"Ex-girlfriend" Lisa said, "We broke up when her brother groped me, and I broke both of his arms and a rib"

"Why is it when ever someone touches you, your reaction is to put them into the hospital?" Michael asked.

"My body is an amusement park" She responded, "You don't get to skip to the front of the line" Lisa sighed, "Let's talk about something more pleasant, most attractive cartoon woman?"

"Okay" Louis said, "Well it begins and ends with Supergirl"

"I dunno, ever seen Sailor Mars?"

"I can top both of them" Michael said, for once taking part in their experiments in insanity, "Jessica Rabbit" They paused.

"Alright, you win"

"Good" Michael said, "We're moving" The line slowly began to move foreword, I on the other hand did not. I moved my legs but they didn't seem to go towards the boat. The big boat, in the ocean. The ocean that was all around me, out to get me, I can't do this.

"Can't do this" I shrieked. I tried to turn around and run, only for Enfer to scoop me up in her mouth and start carrying me. "Let me go! Let me go, I'm scared to die again!" Enfer mumbled something, and we finally made it onto the boat. At that point Enfer finally put me down, only to have me collapse at Michael's feet.

The boat its self was this giant cruise ship, with people mulling about all over it. Our room was one of the above deck cabins, which you would think would be nicer. You would of course be very, very wrong.

"These are our rooms" Michael said, coming to a door that read A42, "You guys have the rooms to the left of mine and the right" He opened the door, to see a room ruffle the size of a storage locker. "My God, the toilet, shower, bed, dresser, and nightstand are all in one room! Their is only one room! We paid four hundred apiece"

"We got gypped" Lisa said. The horn blared loudly, and the boat began to move through the ocean. We were finally on our way to Mossdeep.

"I feel ill" I said, lying on Michael's lap with Rush and Bane. He was in the cabin of the boat, also sea sick, with a pillow over his head. Flash was on the floor, eyes closed, in a meditative state. I had fired a shadow ball at him, nothing. "I should never have gotten on this boat, I'm a moron"

"I think you're brave" Rush said cheerfully, "You're afraid of the ocean, and you've been forced to confront it. You haven't died though, have you?"

"It hasn't gotten the chance to kill me" I growled at the grinning dork. Rush laughed at this comment.

"Don't be silly" Rush said, "The ocean isn't trying to kill you"

"You don't know that!"

"Could you two shut up?" Bane mumbled, clutching his little blue head. "My brain feels like it's trying to claw its way out of my skull"

"I have to get out of here" I heard Michael say from under the pillow. He moved me, Rush, and Bane off of him and sat up. He looked exhausted, and was still wearing his only pair of clothing he had. The only other thing that had survived the fire, the book, was on the nightstand. Some how Michael had torn through it in one night, and was over two-thirds of the way done. "Sorry guys, I need some air" He walked over to the door, and I was faced with a choice. Go with Michael, and be forced to face the ocean, or speak to Rush.

"Michael! Wait for me!" I cried, jumping up and running to him. Michael looked down at me and smiled.

"Angel, you need air also?"

"Of course" I cried. Michael opened the door, and a wave of salty air blew over me, nearly making my knees buckle. Ignore it, ignore it, think of having to talk to Rush. I walked over the door way onto the salty, hard wood of the deck. Michael shut the heavy door, and leaned against it, sliding to the ground. He looked down at my trembling little body.

"Angela didn't like the ocean either" Michael said, "You know, you remind me of her some times. I'm talking about my dead friend to my Umbreon instead of exploring the boat, it's going to be a long trip"

"Oh my God" A voice called out. Oh fuck, not that voice, anybody but that voice. Any body more pleasant, Hitler, the Unabomber, Janice from Friends, any one. We both looked up, to see Robin standing a few feet away. Of course.

The wind was blowing, and she had a disturbing half smile. The red pants suit and smile made her look like Satan, posing for a Mentos commercial.

"Robin!" Michael exclaimed, "What are you doing here?" He stood up and hugged her, while I hissed at the root of all evil. Robin looked down at me and stuck out her tongue.

"This was the first boat I could get to Mossdeep" Robin said, letting go. She turned around and started walking, followed by Michael and me. I kept glancing over the boat, at the ocean.

"This was cruel" I whispered.

"I've only got two more gyms" Robin said, "Then I'm done. I gotta assume the same thing for you?"

"I assume correctly" Michael said, "I took for freaking ever fighting Winona" We began to move through a large crowd of people on the ship, past the all day buffet and shuffle board courts.

"Really?" Robin asked, "I beat her in one try, heck I didn't even use all of my pokemon!" Dumb bitch.

"Lucky you" Michael said, "What are all of those people doing over there?" A large crowd of people had gathered around something. The noise suggested a pokemon battle, but I wasn't certain. We pushed our way through the crowd, to the source of the noise.

It was definitely a battle, a fairly bizarre one. Their was a boy, maybe 17, with a Kadabra beating the snot out off a Gulpin belonging to a 10 year old girl. Next to the boy was a plastic jar with CASH written on it. It was filled to the gills.

"Do you see what I see?" Robin asked.

"A pokemon from Kanto beating up a pokemon from Hoenn on a cruise ship in Hoenn?" Michael asked, "Yeah, I see"

"Psychic" The boy said laughing as he spoke. He had a stupid looking bowl hair cut, and must have weighed near 300 pounds. His Kadabra promptly smashed Gulpin into the ground with psychic energy. It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out Kadabra had knocked the shit-sack out cold. "You loose! Collect your specimen and be gone!" Seriously, who talks like that?

By now the little girl was sobbing, the fat asshole was laughing, and he had two losers behind him stuffing money into the jar. They had matching crew-cuts, and were wearing Raybans. "Step up people, any one who wants to challenge the Lucas is welcome to. Beat me, and win the pot!" The Lucas?

"I'll challenge you" He couldn't have said that, he couldn't have. I looked up and confirmed, Michael had said that. The Lucas looked over at him, and laughed like a fat asshole.

"Lucas excepts your challenge, as long as you pay the entrance fee of fifty" Michael paused, and looked at Robin.

"I have no money"

"You have no money?"

"...It kind of burned up in a fire"

"WHAT!?" Robin yelled. Every one turned to her, and she blushed, "What?"

"I have no cash, can I borrow some?" Robin reached into the pocket of her pants suit, and handed us one crinkled bill.

"It's all I've got, make sure to win"

"Trust me" Michael said. "Angel, you ready?"

"Umbre!" We walked out of the ring to the over confident fat boy, whose arrogance made me think of him as a human Pecha. Michael handed him the bill, and his two followers put it in the jar.

"I assume you will be using your strange Eevee" The Lucas said.

"This is an Umbreon"

"What is an Umbreon?" Oh dear God something is wrong with this boy.

"A fancy Eevee" Michael said, unable to resist. "I assume you will be using Kadabra?"

"Of course! Kadabra, use psychic and crush the Eevee!" Kadabra attempted to attack me with psychic energy. The energy did nothing aside from tickle and lightly brush my fur.

"Angel, shadow ball"

"That won't work! Psychic-type are immune to ghost-type attacks!" I fired a shadow ball, and clobbered Kadabra. It was out cold before it even hit the ground.

"I assume that means I win?" Michael said. The Lucas looked down at its Kadabra, absolutely stunned. He grit his teeth and looked up at us, seething with rage.

"You cheated!" The Lucas shouted, shrieking like a howler Mankey. "Their is no way you could have defeated The Lucas!" He held up his fists the size of canned hams, "You cheated in a pokemon fight, their is no way you could cheat in a real fight"

"You don't want to do this" Michael said.

"The Lucas has no regrets!"

"If you do this" Michael began, "Then I will take the money, and take your dignity"

"The Lucas is ready!" He said, pulling his fist back.

"Okay" Michael said. Before anyone could react, Michael grabbed the Lucas by the side of the head, pulled him in, and kissed him on the lips. We all stood there, dumb struck, as Michael pulled back. The Lucas just stood there, arm frozen mid-air. Michael walked past him and grabbed the jar. "Robin, lets go"

* * *

"Where do you see us in a year?" That's the question that all men hate being asked when they're dating someone. Women also hate being asked it, but luckily they rarely hear it. This was not one of those cases.

"Excuse me?" Lisa asked. She and Louis were leaning against the railing of the ship, while Enfer sat behind them. Even Enfer seemed confused by Louis asking that question.

"You and me" Louis said, "When Michael finishes his journey through Hoenn, what will happen to us?" Lisa looked at the ocean and shrugged.

"I dunno" Lisa said, "We can think about that later"

"If a year from now I asked you to marry me, what would you say?" Lisa opened her mouth, and paused, only for a second. That was more then enough.

"I don't know" Lisa said.

"It would be no, wouldn't it?" Louis said, a steely tone in his voice.

"I didn't say that" Lisa said.

"Then tell me I'm wrong" Louis replied. Lisa giggled nervously.

"Well, uh, you are"

"You're lying!" Louis said.

"You're right, I would say no!" Lisa said flailing her arms in frustration. Louises face dropped at this comment.

"A year later and you would still say no? Why?" Lisa sighed.

"Because, it wouldn't be serious Lou. You can't be serious, and I love that. You also can't be sober, and I hate that" She sighed, "I mean, you gave up pot, and you started boozing"

"I haven't had a drink all day!" Louis said.

"How long will that last?" Lisa asked. Taking her cane, she hobbled off, while Louis slunk against the railing. Enfer came over and licked his cheek.

"You know what the worst part is?" Louis said, "I love her"

* * *

"At least the book survive, even if it was the only thing that survived?" Robin said, "I doubt I'd be that lucky" We were seated at a table near the buffet, Michael and Robin sitting across from one another.

"Let me set you on fire" I snarled, "I will test that theory"

"Yeah, it was all that survived" Michael said, "I've almost finished the thing. I forgot I even had it"

"What's the books theory?" Robin asked.

"That three legendaries are more powerful then all the others" Michael said, "And that those three have the power to" Robin put her hand on his thigh, "The uh, power to bring humans back to life as pokemon, what are you doing?"

"You kissed a guy earlier" Robin whispered, "I know you didn't enjoy that, so how about you kiss some one who I know you like" Robin moved in, and kissed Michael. I bit her hard on the leg, drawing blood. "Yow!"

"Angel! Robin!" Michael cried out, looking back and forth at the two of us, "What are you doing?" Robin looked down at me, then back at Michael.

"Uh, which one of us are you talking to?"

"To you!" Michael said, "Why did you just kiss me?"

"Because I knew you wanted me to" Robin said, "We almost did in Petalburg"

"Yeah, and I decided against it" A lie. Michael's heart was racing, he was nervous. I didn't care, I still had the taste of Robin on my teeth.

"Michael you feel something, I feel something" Robin said.

"Yeah, we're friends Robin"

"Then let's be more then friends!"

"No!" Michael said, "It wouldn't work out" Robin paused.  
"...Why would it not work out?" Robin asked.

"Uh, well" Robin stood up. "Where are you going?"

"Not sure, I've embarrassed my self and I need to be gone" Robin hobbled her way out, hand over where I bit her. Michael watched her leave, his eyes welling up.

"Why did I react like that?" He asked.


	99. Dress Big

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**XCIX: Dress Big**

Louis was moving our stuff out of our room, into his. That was the sight me and Michael were greeted by when we made it back our rooms. Louis didn't look up, to busy herding all of the pokemon in our entire group into his room.

"Louis!" Michael cried, "What are you doing?" Louis finally looked over at us, as Enfer entered his room. He shut the door and leaned against it. He seemed upset, though I don't know why.

"I uh, need your room dude" Louis said.

"Why on earth do you need my room?" Michael asked.

"It's got all of the things I don't have" Louis said, "A phone, a sink"

"Why do you not have a sink?"

"I have no idea, I got in my room and all that was left was pieces of the sink all over the floor" Michael sighed, and shrugged.

"Whatever, do what you want" He slumped against the wall, and slid down to the ground. Louis noticed, and crouched down in front of him.

"Something wrong?" Michael laughed slowly.

"Picked up on it, did you? Yeah, something's wrong, I ran into Robin"

"The red head girl in the pants suit? Oh I know she's here, she's in the room beside mine"

"She is!?" Michael exclaimed.

"Oh yeah she is" Louis said, "Why would I lie about that? I saw her when I got on, she had the door to her room open and was stitching up one of her suits. I would have told you, only I hate that girl"

"The first sane thing anyone has said today" I mumbled.

"Well I don't" Michael grumbled, "At least, I think I don't. You see, Robin kissed me"

"Robin kissed you!" Louis exclaimed. "She was kissing you, and you didn't take her back to her room to boff her brains out?"

"Let me finish" Michael said tensely. "Robin kissed me, and then Angel bit her in the leg" Louis prepared to congratulate me, and Michael held up his hand. "Then Robin stopped kissing me, and I got...mad. I don't know why, I was just suddenly furious. I was mad at her, except it wasn't her, it was" Michael froze, mouth open and eyes filled with confusion.

"Yeah, uh huh" Louis said, "I'd love to stand here and talk, but I need to do something in your room, slash my new room" Louis opened the door and walked in. Michael stood up to talk to him, only to have Louis close the door in his face.

"Thanks Lou" Michael said. He looked at our new room, finally giving in. "Come on Angel, let's go"

* * *

Louis had brought a pair of scissors with him, he always carried one with him. It had been because of one time when he had passed out drunk, and had woken up covered in fishing net, on top of a donut shop. To this day Louis still couldn't figure out how he had ended up on top of the store, but he remembered the booze he had been drinking was really good.

He ran his hair under the sink that his room was missing, washing grease and grunge out of his hair. Louis used one of the small bottles of shampoo that had been in his room (his room also lacked a shower, but had shampoo), to deep scrub his hair. It took him over fifteen minutes, not unusual considering he hadn't washed his hair in a year.

"Alright, that's enough. Let's see how it looks" Louis looked up in the mirror, letting his hair down as far as it would go. His hair was actually a shade lighter then Louis had remembered it being. "Okay, maybe I went a little to long without washing it" Louis picked up the scissors, "Alright, lets get this bitch done"

He began to cut his hair.

* * *

"Dear God this place is a hole" Michael said. The sink had been smashed into a hundred pieces, which were scattered across the floor. The shower wasn't here, but don't worry, the pipes were sticking out of the ground. The only things that were okay were the bed, the toilet, the nightstand, and the TV. Wait, TV?

"Our room doesn't have a TV!" I cried. Every one else was already here, most asleep on the bed. Bane had the remote in his arms, and was trying to use it to turn on the TV. It was bizarre watching him do that, as the remote was bigger then he was.

Michael slumped down on the bed, and tried to lay down. He ended up laying on Shu, Wisp, Pecha, and Trish, who proceeded to bite the fuck out of him.

"Ow! Ow Ow Ow Ow!" Michael cried, jumping up. Part of what was left of his shirt had been burned away by Wisp. "Okay, won't sit back down on the bed" He instead collapsed on the toilet, letting his arms go limp. "I feel like crap"

"I feel great" I said to the group, "I bit Robin in the leg, made her bleed. The only thing better I could have done would have been to use an iron tail and knock her fat head off" Flash looked up at me, a bit confused by the remark.

"I've hurt Robin. One of my best friends, someone who I don't know how I feel about"

"You hate her" I said, "You have to hate her, she's an obnoxious ditz"

"He does not" I heard Bane say. He then began to pound on the plastic remote. "Why won't this work?"

"Because you're a moron" I said.

"Robin deserves an apology" Michael said, standing up.

"No she doesn't" I said.

"I have to go give her one, she deserves that much" He said.

"No don't!" I jumped over Shu, and made it to Michael as he walked out of the door. I jumped to follow him, only to have the door shut and me hit it head on. Great, just great.

* * *

Robin's room was to the right of our new room. Michael walked over to it, and lifted his hand to knock.

"Okay I'm going to go in there an apologize" Michael didn't move, "Yep, just going to walk in and say how sorry I am" The breeze blew across his frozen body, "Any moment now"

* * *

"Why are the batteries in backwards?" Bane cried, as he continued to mess with the remote. "No wonder I couldn't get it to work"

I was still laying against the door. No one had come to my aide, and I suspect that they were laughing at me. Even Enfer wasn't coming to help me back up, I don't know why. Slowly I stood up again, shaking my head rapidly to get blood flowing again. "Dear God that hurt"

"We have TV" Bane exclaimed happily. "Alright, we have three things to choose from. We have free porn, free game shows from the 60's, and free something called Ras na Rún"

"Ras na Rún? Turn to that" Enfer exclaimed, turning her head up at the TV on the ceiling.

"What is it?" Bane asked.

"Soap opera" Enfer said, "It was one of few things I had to fill my time when I was human, this and Ta Mistika Tis Edem were the only things I watched towards the end. I used to watch Paradise Falls, but the cast changes ticked me off to much"

"I don't even know what language it's in!"

"They have subtitles!"

"How did you know about this show?" I asked. Enfer tore her eyes away from the TV for only a second, but looked back again.

"Mar-Marcus believed that our satellite company was screwing us over, charging us to much you know, so he bought his own satellite dish, and started finding program codes on the internet. Our company changed the codes to frequently, so Marcus decided he would show them and began to steal from satellites in other countries"

"He would show them" I said, "By stealing from someone else?"

"Welcome to my world" Enfer said.

"What ever" I walked over and sat down by the foot of the bed. I looked to my left, to see Flash sitting beside me. "Yah! Where the fuck did you come from?"

"Angela, why did you attack Robin?" Flash asked, choosing not to answer my damn question.

"What does it matter?"

"Tell me Angela, why did you choose to attack Robin?" I shrugged.

"I hate the damn bitch, you know I hate her, I've said many times just how much I hate her. Robin is whiney, prissy, obnoxious, and a selfish bitch. She exists only so that my life can be harder then it already is"

"How could you help Poilin kill herself?!" I heard Enfer cry at the TV.

"What was Robin doing that made you bite her?" Flash asked.

"You already know that" I said, "She was kissing Michael!" Flash held up his paw.

"Alright, let's focus on that, now shall we? Robin kissed Michael, and this got you in such a rage you bit her in the leg. Why?"

"Because I couldn't get her in the throat" I said, grinning. "What does it matter"

"You've been asked before how you feel about Michael, because you know how he feels about you, you remember what you said?" Oh I know what I said.

"I don't know" I replied.

"That's right, I don't know" Flash said, "If you don't know, why did you bite Robin?" My skin began to feel prickly, I gulped.

"Can we uh, change the subject"

"No we can't" Flash said, "Why did you bite Robin?"

"I had reasons!" I shouted.

"What reasons?"

"I love him, god damn it!" I screamed. Every one turned to me, and I froze, letting the words sink in. "Shit, I need to see Michael"

"And do what?" Flash asked. Knock-knock-knock. Their was a knocking at the door, but we lacked the thumbs to answer it.

"I dunno" I said, standing up, "I'll think of that" Voices filled the room suddenly. Not our voices, rather voices coming from, or through the left wall. Louis and Lisa, they were talking about something. We all ran and pressed our ears against the wall. We could barely make out what they were saying.

"Pecha is confused by the noise" Pecha squawked, reminding me why I didn't miss her, "Pecha demands to see what's on the other side!"

"Your royal ass will have to wait" Wisp said. "There's an air duct on the top of both walls, if someone can get into it, we can spy on the two of them"

"Good, just pull the bolted down cover off of the duct" I said. "Any other ideas"

"I can get it off" Shu said suddenly. We all turned to him, to see he was hyperventilating with excitement. "I can design something that can jerk the cover off. I can use Dex, because Spinaraks webs are stronger then steel cable, and I can use the sink pieces as weight, and the toilet as a sucking mechanism" I ran over to Titan's pokeball and released him beside the bed. He blinked rapidly, looked around, then down at me.

"Need you to pop the cover off of that air duct"

"Alright" Titan reached over and popped the cover off with one rocky digit. "Anything else?"

"No, go away" I returned him to his pokeball. I then turned to the visibly upset Shu. "How exactly did you know about that Spinarak crap?"

"I once made a home-made grapple gun out of my houses sump-pump, a Spinarak thread, and part of a bed post" Shu said, "You need to know things like that when the rebels are burning your village and killing your children" We all took a step back as Shu continued to reminisce.

"Great, I need a boost" Trish clamped down on my fur, and flapped her wings rapidly.

"Crap your heavy" Trish wheezed.

"Less lip, more flap" I said.

"Why was Pecha not flapped up to the entrance by the metal bird of destruction?"

"Your to fat" Trish said, before slinging me into the hole. I hit it and slid, finally banging my head against the great. I was unable to stand all the way up, but I had a great view of the room.

* * *

Louis had shaved his face, cut his hair, and even thrown away his shirt with the ironic slogan (Warrior doesn't rape Santa, I rape Santa). Of course, their wasn't a place on the ship to buy clothing, but their were tennis outfits for people to wear while playing on the second level tennis court.

Right now he was decked out in a white wool shirt, white shirts, white socks and shoes, with a white sweater tied around his neck. Admittedly he didn't need the sweater and shoes, but it completed the look!

"Alright" Louis said, "Now all I have to do is find Lisa and" Knock-knock-knock. Louis flipped around to the door, "Great, who could possibly need me?" Louis pulled the door open, "Oh my God!"

In front of him was a woman in a grungy looking green hoody, torn blue jeans, wearing dirty looking glasses. The problem with the image was the blonde hair was washed, and the face was dirt free. "Lisa?"

"Louis?" She walked into the room and shut the door.

"Oh my God" They said in unison.

"I went by your room to see you" Lisa said, "But I didn't get an answer, so I came by here to see Michael, only he was standing outside of the room you used to be in, and you were in here, why are you here?"

"Lisa, you" Louis looked around, and sat down on the bed. Lisa sat down beside him, and he took her hands in his, "You said a lot of things that made sense to me, you were right! I'm not very serious, and I'm still a messed up fucker. But I wanted to show you I could be your guy, that I could be serious"

"So you?" This was the part of the conversation where I crashed into the cover of the air duct.

"Changed my clothing, cut my hair, and flushed my last pot and booze down the toilet" Louis said. "What about you? What did you do?" Lisa grinned, and pushed her glasses up.

"Yeesh, I haven't worn these in years" Lisa said, "Well I got to thinking, and I realized you were willing to change, but I wasn't! You had given up pot, were trying to give up booze, and what had I given up? I was being selfish, and I wanted to show you that I could change" She looked over her clothing, "This is the last normal clothing I wore, the day I climbed out of the bathroom"

"So you changed into it?"

"As a sort of symbolic way I could show you I was willing to change" Lisa said.

"What about the glasses, I thought you had corrective surgery"

"Er, not exactly. I wasn't willing to have them stick a lazer beam anywhere in that area, so I just got contacts"

"And you tossed them out just to show you could change"

"Yep! Also because I sneezed, and they fell out of my eyes, but the first one sounds better" Louis laughed, and Lisa grinned nervously. "Remember how you asked what would happen if you asked me to marry you in a year? Well, what if you didn't, what if you asked me now?"

"What do you mean?"

"In a year, what if we got married? What would you say" Louis grabbed her in an embrace, and kissed her. The two collapsed on the bed, making out.

* * *

"Oh boy I've got a lot to say" I said crawling backwards out "I've got a lot to say, someone catch me" I fell out onto an empty bed, landing on my back. "Why did no one catch me?" I turned, to see every one pressed against the right wall. "What happened?"

"Voices in Robin's room" Bane said to me, "I think Michael is in there" I jumped up, and stomped on Titan's pokeball, releasing him once again.

"Titan, pop the cover off of that air duct" I said, gesturing. Titan looked at it.

"Okay, since you were mean the last time I did it, I'll only do it if you give me a blow-job"

"No"

"Give Bane a blow-job and let me watch"

"Nope"

"Lick your self and let me watch"

"Not happening"

"Thank me for doing so?" I thought about it.

"Maybe, open the damn duct" Titan nodded, and pulled the cover off of the duct. He crumpled it up and ate it. "...Is that safe?"

"I've eaten enough metal in my life, I'll know"

"What ever, back you go" I said, recalling him into the ball.

"You didn't thank me!" Titan protested, as he was sucked up again. I then ran over to the wall, looking at the hole. Trish got the message, and lifted me up. She pitched me into the air duct.

"Have fun" She called. I settled down, and looked into Robin's room.

* * *

Michael had taken over twenty minutes positing himself up to knock on the door. Even then, he only barely rapped on it.

"Didn't hear me" Michael said, "Guess I should"

"Come in" Robin called.

"Damn it" Michael mumbled. He opened the door to see Robin on the bed, quickly pulling her pants up. Their was moaning coming from the TV. "Robin?"

"Oh, what do you want?" Robin asked, turning off the porn.

"I came to apologize" Michael began.

"Well you did, apology excepted" She climbed off the bed, and pointed at the door, "You can leave now"

"No!" Michael protested, "I can't leave. Not yet Robin, I" Robin cleared his throat. "Robin, I do care about you. I don't know how I care about you, but I do. Maybe I even love you, I don't know"

"Then why couldn't you kiss me?" Robin asked.

"When I did I" Michael gulped, "I felt like I was doing something wrong, like I was cheating on Angela"

"You were never with Angela! How can you cheat on someone you were never with?"

"I don't know" Michael said, "I just, I did"

"Then it was a bad idea" Robin said, "You don't care about me as much as you do her, and she's dead, good-bye Michael"

"I'm not leaving" Michael said. "You're right, I'm fucked up psychologically. I don't care about that Robin, and you shouldn't either. I care about you Robin, I care because I know who you are, underneath your preppy act. You're smart Robin, and you're kind" Robin laughed slowly, wiping her eyes.

"The real me? You think you see the real me? When you look at me Michael, what do you see?" Robin asked. Michael shrugged.

"I see you Robin. I see someone who is very dear to me. I see my best friend" She laughed.

"No, that's not what I mean. What do you see about me? Do you just see a red-head in a pants suit? Or do you see a real girl?" Michael began to perspire. "Do you know why I care about you? Do you remember all of those times after school when you hung out with me, when no one would. When you sat with me at lunch, so I wouldn't break down sobbing. When you listened to my problems, let me unload on you?"

"Robin, I don't understand" Robin looked Michael square in the eyes. All though she was looking at him, she wasn't actually looking at him. No, rather, she was looking through him.

"In all of those times you listened to me, did you ever really notice me?" Her hands moved up to her hair. "You saw my red hair, poorly cut. Did you see the girl who had to little money for her own hair cut, so she had to cut it herself. The girl who keeps her pokemon in their balls because she can barley afford food for them?"

Michael was utterly mesmerized by now. Robin kicked her shoes off.

"Did you see the girl who always wore high heels because they made her taller? Because being taller made her feel strong? Did you ever see that girl?" Robin now reached for the buttons on her pants suit jacket. "How about the girl who wares the same suits over and over again. The girl who finds comfort in repetition" The jacket hit the floor, and Robin slipped her pants off. Now she was in panties and a tank top.

"Do you see the girl who can't stand the look of her own skin Michael? Did you ever see her" The tank top hit the floor. Her panties followed closely behind. Tears welled up in Robin's eyes. She touched the horizontal, pink scar on her stomach.

"You never saw the girl who needed to feel safe again, who needed to feel comfort. Who hated the feel of her own skin after all of the nights her stepfather came into her room, and she pretended to be asleep. Who told her mother, and her mother hit her with a curling iron, because she didn't want to be alone. The girl who didn't blame her mother, because she knows how scary it is to be alone" She slowly approached Michael.

"This is it Michael, the real me. No suit, not fake smile, just me" She took his hand. "You were the only person who ever listened to me when I was upset, the only person" Robin gulped. "I don't care if you don't return my feelings Michael, I don't care if you don't know how you feel, you deserve to see the real me" With that she broke down, and buried her head in Michael's shirt. He put his arms around her, embracing her tightly.

"Robin, I'm so sorry, I didn't know"

"Of course you didn't" Robin cried, pulling her head up. Tears had streaked down her face, giving it a wet sheen. "You didn't notice me, who would notice such a fucking loser?"

"Damn it Robin, you're not a loser!" Michael yelled, "Don't say stupid things like that, in fact, lets both stop being stupid and look at what we have"

"What do you mean?"

"You have me Robin" Michael said, "All of me, as long as you want" With that Michael kissed her, and much to her own shock, Robin kissed back.

They kissed, and I sat in the air duct, sobbing.


	100. The One Hundredth

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**C: The One Hundredth**

"We'll need to tell Michael" Louis said. The two were laying together, under the covers of their bed, staring at the ceiling. Lisa had her body pressed as tight against Louis as she could possibly get it. She was shivering, from cold or from excitement, it didn't matter.

"You're wrong" Lisa said, "You want to tell Michael, I have no real interest in telling anyone about this"

"So we should have a secret wedding, secret marriage, and live a secret life?"

"No! What I mean is, we keep it secret until we leave the group. Maybe then we tell him, he would have to be at our wedding after all"

"Why not tell him now?"

"Michael is going for the last two gym badges in Hoenn" Lisa said, "Then going to the pokemon championship. As an ex-almost champion, I know how important focus is during this period, Michael needs to think only about battling, he doesn't need anything distracting him"

* * *

Michael and Robin had also made it back to the bed, and were laying down. No, they were not having sex, luckily for me. I was still in the air duct and watching the show from the theatre of the damned. Tears had stopped rolling down my furry face, but only because I had none left to shed. I was still crying, just dry crying by now.

"My father was in the military" Robin said. She hadn't put her pants suit back on, rather she had wrapped herself up in the comforter of her bed. Michael's arm was around her shoulder, and her head was on his chest. He was stroking her red hair with his other hand, I don't know why.

"He was?" Robin nodded.

"Their has been a Dobin in the military in every generation of my family. General Archibald Dobin commanded forces in the Fiore skirmish, Sergeant Soams Dobin fought in the battle for Pyrite town, I have so many relatives who have fought in famous military battles I can't count them"

"I never knew any of this Robin"

"Well it doesn't really matter I suppose. My mother you see, after my father died she decided she didn't like my families military history. She did every thing in her power to deny any of it ever happened"

"What happened to your father?" Robin sighed.

"Major Henry Dobin, killed when his jeep hydroplaned on a wet road, and over turned. My father didn't even get the honor of dying in battle, a stupid fucking jeep" Robin's voice began to raise.

"Robin calm down" Michael said, "I'm sorry about your father" Robin nodded.

"Thanks. Well after my father died, my mother got remarried almost instantly. She remarried an asshole named Adam, and we moved to Littleroot where he lived. I didn't even want to move to Littleroot, I thought I would be miserable. The thing was, I was only six then, I didn't know just how horrible my life was about to become.

"I was eight years old the first time it happened. It actually happened on my eight birthday, that's the reason I no longer celebrate my birthday" Michel looked over at Robin, but she was no longer looking at him. Rather, she was looking back in time. "He took me up to my room, Adam took me up saying he had a present. He told me to, oh God he took off his pants. Fuck he took them off! Fuck! Daddy help me!" Robin shrieked.

"Robin!" Michael shook her hard, snapping her out of it. "Robin stop it! You're not there any more" Robin turned and looked him in the eyes. "You're here with me Robin, here where their is no more pain"

No more pain, just peace. Everlasting peace for them.

* * *

Not for me.

"Can't let them see me cry" I whispered to myself, still stuck in that damn air duct. I sniffled a bit, trying desperately to stop my bottom lip from twitching. After a moment it stopped, and I dried my eyes on my black leg. "I can't go out, can't let them see me...Fuck"

"Angela?" A voice of someone from the other side of the duct. One of the group of morons waiting for me to emerge again. "What's going on in there?" What's going on in there? I willingly was tossed into an air duct, just so I could witness my worst nightmare coming true in front of me! That's what's going on.

"I'm coming out now" I called back in a shaky voice. I tried standing up, only to hit my back against the metal above me. I was to tall to stand and get out, I knew that. I couldn't think really, my mind was just ablaze after what I saw.

I began to slide out slowly, falling down a couple of times due to my inability to focus on the simple task of movement. I suddenly realized I was out of the air duct and falling, or at least my body was. Their wasn't much left of my mind at that point in time, it was in tiny pieces.

"Angela!" Enfer cried, catching me on her back. Her fur was soft, and very warm, like a heating blanket. "Angela, what happened?" Enfer jumped on bed, and let me ooze off of her. My face was blank, which was actually a good sign that their was something very wrong. "Angela?"

Every one had crowded around me by now. I could see Bane, Enfer, and Flash the best, and they looked the most concerned.

_Gotta make it look convincing._

I plastered a stupid looking fake smile on my face. "Hey guys, I'm back"

"What happened up there?" Bane asked. I kept smiling like a lunatic.

"Oh nothing big is going on up there!" I said, giggling as I spoke. Flash and Enfer shot each other confused looks, then looked back at me. "Oh just Robin pouring out her soul to Michael, causing me to realize just what a dumb fucking cunt I truly am!"

"Oh Angela!" Enfer said. "You're not...any of those things. Angela, tell us what happened" I stood up, and moved past her. I jumped off of the bed, and walked over to the door.

"I need out of the room" I said, "I need out right now, someone open the door"

"We're not doing it Angela" Enfer had walked over behind me. I hid my face from her, she wouldn't see me cry. "You're going to sit down and tell me what's wrong"

"The fuck I am" I said.

"Umbreon can jump into shadows" Someone behind me said, "Couldn't you just jump into one shadow on this side of the door, and pop out on the other?" Enfer turned and shot a death look at whoever spoke. She tried to grab me in her mouth, but I leapt at the shadow at the base of the door.

Suddenly I was through it, and in the bright sunlight. I was on the other side of the door, and in mid-air. The only shadow was on the upper part of the wall, and I was falling.

Great, just great.

* * *

"I've poured out my life to you" Robin said, "Now its time you do the same. I wanna know about the fire you mentioned, and why your only shirt has a large burn hole" Robin and Michael were lying on their sides, looking at each other. Michael smiled softly.

"Alright, but I must warn you, it's not a very interesting story"

"Michael, I've just told you the most painful aspects of my entire life" Robin said, "Believe me, I could use some dullness"

"Well we went with Louis to see his father" Michael said, "In Lillycove. His father is a real piece of crap, believe me the world will be a better place when he dies. Well, while we were there, a fire started because...you know, I'm not sure why" Robin could tell he was lying, but didn't press him.

"The fire ended up burning the house to the ground. Don't worry about me, I made it out in plenty of time"

"Really?" Robin said with mock surprise, "I thought you burned to death in the fire!" Michael smirked.

"You're not lucky enough for that. Well my bag burned up in the fire, all of my clothing except what I was already wearing, and we didn't get a chance to buy more for me. The only thing that survived was this book I bought in Slateport"

"The reincarnation book?" Robin asked, "Yeah, I know the one. How did it survive exactly?"

"Not entirely sure, but somehow it survived, not even slightly burned" Michael said, "I've almost finished it, it's got some very interesting theories"

"Which are?"

"The biggest one" Michael began, "Is that human's who have died incomplete lives, people who have died when their is still more for them to do, can be brought back to life by three of the legendaries as pokemon"

"Which three?" Robin asked, yawning as she spoke.

"Mew, Arceus, and Giratina I think. According to the author, the three act as a trinity, controlling the three strongest forces in the universe. The forces of life, death, and creation. The other legendaries can also do it, but those three do it better then them, although I don't think their are degrees to how well you can bring a person back to life" Michael stopped when he noticed Robin had fallen asleep. "Thanks Robin" He slowly slid out of the bed, leaving the sleeping girl. Michael then bent down and kissed her on the side of the head. "I'll be back in a few minutes" He walked over to the door, pausing for a lingering look at Robin, before heading out.

The sun had almost set when Michael headed out, its last lingering lights bathing over him. Michael opened the door to his room, and was greeted by a bunch of startled looking pokemon.

"Hey guy's, how is it" Something was wrong. Michael noticed that right away, someone was missing. He did a quick count of the ground. "Where is Angel?"

"Canine!" Enfer barked out.

"Great, Angela must have gotten out" Michael said, "I don't even know how she would have done that" He turned around and pulled the door open, then rushing out. "I don't even know where she would go, Angel is smart enough though to not get lost"

* * *

Oh I wasn't lost, I knew exactly where I was. I was on the far end of the ship, staring down at the ocean, praying that I would pass out. I could pass out and fall into the ocean, and drown.

Then I wouldn't have to deal with any of my problems.

"God damn it Robin" I said, "Why couldn't you be the shallow 2D person I thought you were? Why did you have to be a real person?"

I should have been mad at Michael for betraying me, I should have wanted to feel his blood dribble down my muzzle. The thing was, I loved him, and that was why I didn't feel that way.

I wanted him to be happy, fuck I wanted him to be happy. Even if it wasn't with me.

"I can't feel that way" I growled, "He betrayed me!"

_He did no such thing, you can't cheat on a dead girl._

"Michael shouldn't have kissed her, what did Robin do to deserve it?"

_What did you do to deserve his feelings for you? What nice things did you do?_

"I earned it" I snarled, "Through a life time of pain and suffering"

_You had a hard life, but their are plenty of people who had harder lives. You could have survived, you decided to show them all by killing your self. What did it get you? The body of an Umbreon, being forced to watch the world go by, without playing a part in it._ I began to cry again, my tears rolling down my cheeks and hitting the hard wood I stood on.

Their were lots of people mulling about behind me, but none of them noticed me. I don't think I minded that really, I needed to be alone. It didn't matter that there were people all around me, I was more alone then I had ever been in my entire life.

"I can't be with the group anymore" I mumbled, "Michael will ask Robin to come with us, she will, and she'll be a reminder to me. A reminder of just what a fucking loser I truly am. Damn it, Robin had an actual reason to kill herself, she had a much harder life then I did. She's persevered though, how the fuck could I not?"

"Angel?" Great, his voice. It had to be his voice, he had to be looking for me. I glanced behind me, to see Michael running towards me.

"God, why now?" I mumbled. Michael sat down beside me, not bothering to pick me up. I wonder why he did that.

"I was so worried Angel, how did you get out?" Michael asked. I gave off a weak Umbre, and continued to look at the ocean. The sun had almost set completely, and by now the water was a deep shade of purple. It didn't scare me for once, also didn't make me feel good, but whatever.

"Better question, why did you run away?" Michael asked, an edge in his voice. Why did I run away? Simple, because I couldn't stand to talk to the others in my group. They would want to talk to me about what I had seen, and try to console me. I didn't want to talk about it, I just wanted to run away. If I ran far enough away, maybe my misery wouldn't follow me.

"I was talking to Robin" Michael said, "She's the girl you bit. We didn't bring that up, so I've got to assume she wasn't mad about the biting thing. I've fallen for her, I know I have" He put his face in his hands, "Then why do I still feel guilty? Like I've betrayed Angela, who was never actually my girlfriend! Christ, I'm going insane" Michael pulled his face out and looked at me. He started to stroke my fur gently. "You're about the only person I can talk to Angel, you're not even a person. You were there the day Angela died" Michael smiled, "You comforted me, made me feel better. After reading that book, I'd like to think that Angela could someday come ba-" A confused look appeared on his face.

"You weren't just there the day Angela died" Michael said, "You hatched within minutes, if not at the same time! I would say that was a coincidence, but the book said to look for things like that" Michael was no longer looking at me, he was off in his own world. "You've always been strange Angel, smarter then other pokemon. You've always seemed like-like" He gulped, "Like you could understand me" Michael looked me in the eyes. "A-Angela?"

"Hi Michael" I said in a clear voice.


	101. The Discovery

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CI: The Discovery**

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God" Michael chanted over and over again. He had pulled his knees in close, and was slowly rocking back and forth.

"Yeah, you said that all ready," I said. "Any other thoughts?" Michael just kept rocking back and forth mumbling to himself. He had turned milky white, and was hyperventilating. "Alright, take your time". A few minutes later, Michael managed a few gasping breaths, and finally looked back at me.

"H-how? How is this? How is this this?" Michael chanted, trying desperately to make sense of all of this.

"Remember my suicide?" I said, "Well it didn't end with that, what I mean is my life didn't end then. Except it did, except I'm alive now. Er, this is hard to explain"

"Try" Michael said flatly.

"Well first I need to tell you, I tried to unkill myself. I tried to get out of the noose, but the chair I was on slipped. Well I was hanging there, and about to black out when I fell through the rope"

"Through the rope?" Michael asked, not believing what he was hearing. I shrugged, as only an Umbreon can.

"I fell through the rope" I said, "And through the floor, through the ground, and into the center of the earth. At least at the time I thought it was the center of the earth, it turned out it was Eternity"

"....Eternity?"

"Nice place, it's this black void that you float in when you die. As Not Meowth tried to explain it to my puny mortal brain, it's like a weigh station between this world and the next"

"Not Meowth?"

"...You know, I'll explain about him when I actually have all of the pieces to that particular puzzle" Michael nodded, still confused by all of this. His face was blank as if absorbing all of this information had begun to turn his mind into pudding. By now Michael's eyelids had begun to sag, making him look depressed. "Anyways, while there I met Mew, yes the legendary pokemon Mew.

"Well Mew told me that my life didn't have to end yet, and that he, er she would let me come back to life. You know, I'm not sure what Mew's gender is, or if legendaries can even have genders. What do you think about that?" Michael's face was frozen stiff, "Alright, we'll get back to that. Anyways, Mew told me that if I wanted to come back, all I had to do was ask. The only thing is, I would come back as a pokemon"

"An Eevee" Michael said suddenly. "You came back as my Eevee?"

"No" I said sarcastically, "I came back as someone else's Eevee, and traded places with your Eevee, of course I came back as your Eevee"

"Don't be sarcastic" Michael yelled. "This is not a time to be sarcastic" For one brief moment Michael's eyes bulged. His skin jumped a hue, before going pale once again.

"Sor-sorry" I said, "Well yeah, I've been traveling around as your Eevee. When we were in Rustburo I was told by Mew (I lied so I wouldn't have to explain Not Pokemon) that it would be made so you could understand me" I stood up and walked over to him, putting my head on his knee. "You do now though, and everything will be just fine"

"You bitch" I froze.

"Uh, what?" Michael turned to me, gritting his teeth. His turned red, and a vein in his forehead began to protrude.

"You heard me right, you bitch! You god damn, mother-fucking, cock-sucking, piece of shit, bitch!" That last part he had yelled, drawing the attention of every one around us.

"Michael, people are staring" I began.

"I don't care if people are starring!" He shouted, emphasizing the last words, "I'm having an emotional break down, I don't give a damn if people are watching" Michael was spitting as he spoke, bits of spit hitting me on the face. "They can get in line to suck my balls!"

This was a side of Michael I had only seen once before, Michael really pissed. He looked like he could grab me by the throat and shake the shit out of me. He had stopped grinding his teeth, and now seemed to be using all of his energy not to throw me over board.

"What's the matter with you?" I asked. Michael laughed like a loon.

"What's the matter with me? You really wanna know you fucking whore? Do you know what I've been through for the last year? Do you know what your suicide did to everyone? Does your pitfall Umbreon brain realize the hell I've been in?"

"Michael, I thought we were talking about me"

"You just said the key word Angela, me! That's all it's ever been for you isn't it? It's always been about you! I don't know why I never noticed it, but that's just it. It's all about you, you are the most important person in your life. Angela, you are easily the most selfish human I have ever known! I knew the drunken Duncans, and you're still worse"

"What the hell are you talking about?" I said. Michael paused, rubbing his eyes, before talking again.

"Angela, suicide is the worst thing a person can do. It is the most arrogant, idiotic, stubborn, asinine act a person can commit. It's a person's way of looking at the world and saying, you've beaten me. I give up. The problems of the world are too great for me. I'm pathetic, and my life was a waste. That's exactly what you said"

"I tried to undo it" I protested.

"That doesn't matter, you still put your head in a noose! You still wanted to kill yourself"

"I did not!" I shrieked, "I changed my mind!" Michael laughed slowly.

"Oh really? Tell me Angela, why did you change your mind?" I shrugged.

"Because I was afraid to die I suppose"

"So it had nothing to do with what the effect of your suicide would have on people?"

"Maybe, I dunno. Why does it matter to you?"

"Why!? You some how managed to make not wanting to kill your self-selfish. I didn't even know what was possible, but you did it! You deserve a round of applause" Michael snarled, mock clapping.

I fired a shadow ball, and Michael ducked back. The shadow ball ended up hitting a bald guy across the deck of the ship. He spun and slammed into a guy carrying a tray of drinks to the people by the pool. The waiter guy spilled the drinks all over himself, and fell over, grabbing at what ever was closest by. He ended up grabbing the top off of a woman with really big hair, who screamed and kicked him in the ass.

I laughed, and Michael ended up laughing with me.

"Alright, that was funny" Michael said.

"I know it was" I said, "You know, we had fun, when we were human" Michael grinned, and nodded slowly.

"Yeah we did Angel" Michael said, "You were always adventurous, you were the one who wanted to do crazy shit, like jump off of a building with a bed sheet parachute"

"Yeah, and you were the one always telling me not to" I said, "If I remember correctly, when you tried to stop me, I accidentally knocked you off of the building, and hit the ground head first. Do you remember that?"

"No" Michael said, "But I remember people telling me about it" He began to laugh, "I remember when you were dating that loser Donny, my God I hated that loser"

"Well he hated you" I said, "And if you didn't notice, he was nuttier then a Nutter Butter. Nope, can't talk about it, still hurts" I paused for a moment, "Who was that wank you were dating when I was dating Donny? You dated her for like two weeks, and when you broke up I thought you were gay"

"How flattering" Michael said, "Jessica was the girl. Truth be told, I was only dating her to hide my feelings for you Angie. I wasn't sure how long you and Donny would last, but I assumed not long. I mean, he shaved his head! He talked about himself in the third person"

"Angela picked up that habit briefly" I said.

"Thank God Angela dropped it" Michael said, "Or else Michael would have been embarrassed to hang out with you" I laughed.

"Just for the record, I despised that Jessica broad" I said, "She was mean, clingy, and a red head"

"So?"

"I don't like red heads" I said.

"You mean like Robin?" Michael asked, narrowing his glare at me.

"I did maybe, not as much? I dunno how I feel about Robin right now" I said. "I was in the air vent"

"What air vent?" Michael asked.

"The one that connected our room with Robin's room. Yeah, I was inside of the air vent listening to you guys"

"Why were you doing that?" Michael asked, "Better question, how did you get in?"

"Titan helped me in" I said, "He pulled the cover off of the air vent and ate it. As for why, every one else could hear you guys talking, and they could hear Louis and Lisa talking, so I acted like a spy"

"So what were Louis and Lisa....You know what, I can ask that later. Who is everyone?"

"Everyone" I said, "All of your pokemon"

"My pokemon all are...all care about us?"

"Your pokemon are actually more intelligent then even you give them credit for" I said, "One thing I never noticed as a human is that pokemon actually have some very deep personalities. Pokemon have wishes, loves, and dreams. You never notice when human"

"Are any of my other pokemon reborn humans?" Michael asked.

"Bane is" I said, "He was a dancing boy, dead from I'm not sure what. Shu is reborn, he was shot through the eyes in Orre. Enfer was also reborn, she was a woman murdered by her husband. Enfer is" I froze, "Enfer is really important to me" I couldn't explain that, not yet.

"Oh my God" Michael said, "I've been training humans"

"No" I said, "You've been training pokemon who were once human. Not humans, we're pokemon now, and we have adjusted to that"

"Have you now?" Michael asked. I looked away from him. "Angela, you said they've adjusted to being pokemon. Have you?" I avoided the question, shrugging an answer. "Angela, answer me"

"NO!" I shouted, "Okay? I haven't adjusted. No matter what people say, I will never adjusted, being human was great! Being human was the greatest thing ever, and I threw my humanity away like old gum, is that what you want me to say?"

Michael sighed, and pulled my black body into his lap. He began to stroke my fur slowly, whispering something in my giant ears. He spoke so softly even Umbreon hearing can't pick it up.

"It's not what I want you to say Angela" Michael said to me, "It's never what I want you to say. I loved you Angela, you're one of the most important people, err pokemon in my life!"

I leaned into Michael's chest, pushing my head deep into it. His shirt was billowy, though that was in part due to the large burn hole in his back. I looked up at Michael's face.

"What do you mean by, loved?" I asked, "Don't you still love me?" Now Michael was the one looking away.

"You know, I think we need to get back to the room"

"Michael!?" He sighed.

"Of course I love Angela, I always will" Michael gulped, mentally preparing himself. "The thing is, I've spent the last year getting over you. I told myself you were dead, and only recently was I able to move on. By recently, I mean a few hours I was finally completely over your death"

"Because of Robin?" I asked. Michael nodded.

"Yeah, because of Robin. I know you don't want to hear it Angie, but she has helped me. She helped me so much in Petalburg, she helped me sleep for the first time in weeks. I don't know why I couldn't sleep, but she helped me. Robin made me feel good, and secure Angela"

I tried pulling away from Michael, but he held me as tight as he could. I looked up at him, eyes wide with rage.

"I hate Robin" I said, "Do you know just how much I hate her? Does your puny mortal brain grasp the loathing of that smarting, self absorbed, obnoxious bitch? My God, when we were in school I always said she was a carpenter's dream. Flat as a board, and in need of a good screw"

"Don't say that" Michael said sharply. I was crying by now, but I didn't know it. I was numb, floating on air I think.

"Do you love her?" He sighed, and nodded. "I want you to know, Robin knew who I was! She figured it out before I did, and wouldn't tell you"

"Oh come on Angela" Michael said, "That's just petty" Michael's eyes were starting to tear up also.

Now he was turning purple from talking so much and not breathing enough. We were both feeling that we were having out of body experiences, I wanted it to stop. My ears were drooping, and my golden rings were no longer shimmering. The sun had almost set below the skyline, and it was a dark purple now. The ocean was inky black, but no longer crying out to me, no longer inviting. I paused before speaking.

"That's just me isn't it?" I asked. "Petty, selfish, with a filthy mouth. I'm such a fucking awful bitch aren't I?"

"You're not a bitch Angel!" Michael protested.

"You called me one" I snarled.

"I was angry" Michael said, "I am didn't mean it. If you were emotionally screwed with for over a year, you would be to" Michael finally stopped, and looked out at the ocean. I climbed off of his lap, and looked out also. The moon had risen, it was full and pale. It looked lonely tonight.

"So" I said, breaking the silence, "Where do we go from here?" Michael shrugged. We were both crying silently, twin sets of tears rolling down our faces.

"I don't know" Michael said. "You got out of the room, get back in, I may be back in later"

"May be?"

"I don't know right now Angela"

"Fine" I said, turning tail and walking off. "Have a nice fucking life Michael" Michael watched me walk away, before turning back to the ocean.

"God" Michael buried his head in his hands, and wept.


	102. Flash's Charm School

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CII: Flash's Charm School**

Not Milotic and Not Meowth watched Angela run away in anger from Michael, and watched him bury his head in his hands. Not Meowth was smiling, while Not Milotic's face was contorted in pure rage.

"I'll destroy them," Not Milotic said after a few minutes. "I'll grind their bones into dust, and spread them through out all of the dimensions, through the macroverse, any where I fucking please. I'll make them suffer an endless torment, torment that even death will not end!"

"You will do no such thing" Not Meowth said, "You know our code as well as I do. The first rule, that your group and mine have to obey, you can not directly interfere with the lives of the living. The only reason you didn't get stripped of your abilities and your title as a Titan is because I undid your meddling. Tagger didn't harm Michael or Angela, and you won't either"

"Fuck you" Not Milotic snarled. Not Meowth looked her directly in the eyes.

"I don't hate any creature, not even you. If you try to harm them, I will destroy you though. Why don't you do us all a favor and go away?"

* * *

"He can go fuck himself," I yelled, as I jumped back into the room. Enfer and Flash were waiting in front of the door for me, while everyone else was glued to the TV.

"Where did you go?" Enfer cried. I ignored her, walking past the two of them and jumping up on the bed. I flopped my head down, using all of my energy not to weep. Flash and Enfer followed me over, their faces filled with concern.

"What happened out there Angela?" Flash asked me. I sighed.

"Michael figured out who I really am" Both of their jaws dropped. "Because of a little mystical deal set up by a certain super natural entity, who shall remain nameless, Michael can now understand me. Not only can he understand it, he could chew me out, and he did that. He called me a selfish bitch, and told me he was going to boff that stupid pants suit whore" Admittedly, he didn't say he would have sex with Robin, but I was mad.

Enfer sat down, unable to stand up do to the weight of my mini-rant. Her lips were moving, but no noise came out. Her eyes were staring off at no where, through me and through the wall. Flash's eyes were closed, and he was rubbing his head, absorbing all that I had just said.

"Michael knows" Enfer said, "Michael knows about you. Michael can understand you, somehow. Michael can" Enfer was interrupted by noise from the Robin side of the room. We all ran over to the wall and pressed our heads against it.

* * *

"Hey" Michael said, opening the door to Robin's room. Robin turned over, and wearily looked up at him. She smiled a weak smile.

"Hey Michael" Robin said. Michael sat down on the bed, and took her hand in his. It was icy cold to the touch, and he hadn't noticed it before, but she had press-on nails. Her skin was alabaster, a sharp contrast to the tan Michael had developed over the months of walking.

"I know about Angela" Michael stated. Robin yawned, and sat up in the bed. She made sure that she had the sheet pulled tight around her body. "How did you find out?"

"Remember when we were in Lavaridge, and you came in and saw me stoned out of my mind?" Michael nodded, "Well I was smoking Louises special joints, the marijuana had been grown in LSD soaked soil. It did odd things to me, when I smoked it I was reading your reincarnation book. Well suddenly, every thing just made sense to me. I could see Angela for what she really was, and even when I was no longer high I just knew it" Michael paused and mulled over the information.

"Why not tell me?"

"Would you believed me?" Robin asked. "Or would you have said I was crazy?" Michael sighed, and shrugged.

"I honestly don't know Robin, I don't know how I would have reacted. You should have told me though Robin"

"Yeah" Robin said, lying through her teeth, "I should have. How did Angela react to you new found knowledge?" Now it was Michael's turn to lie.

"Well, their was a language barrier" Michael said, "So I don't really know" Robin nodded.

"Are you mad at her?" Michael nodded, "Are you mad at me?" He paused, then shook his head. "Why?"

"You did what you though was right" Michael said, "So I can't be mad at you" He stood up, and turned to the door.

"Michael!" Robin called out. "C-can't you stay tonight?"

* * *

Two hours later Michael was still in that whore's room. I was sitting in my room in the darkness, staring off into space. Every one else had fallen asleep, with Enfer and Bane beside me. I was staring at nothing, thinking nothing, barely existing.

Suddenly, my brain sprung back to life, and I knew what I needed. I needed to talk to Flash, right now. I hopped off the edge of the bed, and landed in front of the Ampharos. Every so often he would let off a few flashes of electricity. I nudged him awake.

"Um, Wha?" Flash looked over at me and yawned. "Angela, what do you want?"

"I listened to Michael" I said, "I've heard Michael in my head over and over again. He was so right, so right about me being a bitch"

"Angela, you're rambling. Calm down and talk to me" Flash said. I blinked rapidly, and nodded.

"Flash, can you un-bitch me?" Flash gave me a tired look that I could see even in the darkness. He sighed.

"Angela, you're not a bitch, good-night"

"Flash! Even I know that I am, please help me" He closed his eyes and began rubbing his furry temples. I knew Flash would give in though, he just couldn't resist doing the right thing.

"Okay, let me ask you something" Flash said, "Pecha comes into the room, screaming New Chu Order! and talking about pincer-movements. What do you say to her?"

"I say, get out of here you little yellow fuck-ball" I said, "Then jump your own asshole and die" Flash's eyes went wide. "What, did I say something wrong?"

"You could try not cursing" I fell started laughing so hard that the ground shaked due to it. Flash had to shock me "Okay, maybe not. You need to learn to control your temper though"

"Why the fuck would I want to control my temper?" I cried. "What's the point of having a temper if you can't unleash it?"

"You have the patience of a fire cracker" Flash said, "And in case you haven't noticed, you're in a group full of pokemon with very strong personalities. You're in love with a human with a strong personality. That is never going to change. You can change though"

"Why would I want to change?" I asked.

"You said you wanted me to make you a better person!" Flash cried.

"Alright, alright" I said, groaning. "I need to control my temper because I'm around people with strong personalities"

"Because they're annoyed by you!" Flash said. "If you haven't noticed Angela, you're not popular in our group"

"Since when?" I cried, stunned by this comment.

"Well, Wisp hates you since a few weeks ago. If I remember, you were talking to Rush, Wisp interrupted, and you responded with '"Was I talking to you pinhead?"' Wisp is a proud creature, comes with being a Vulpix"

"Okay" I said, "So Wisp hates me, no one else does"

"L3 hates you because you make fun of Louis" Flash said, "Empress Sharon told me she didn't like you because of your mouth. Rush no longer talks to you unless he's in a really good mood because you're so negative"

"I'm not negative" I protested, "I'm sunny and positive"

"And I'm a woman" Flash said flatly. "Angela, you can be a remarkably negative person" I opened my mouth to respond, but couldn't think of anything at first.

"I don't think negative things" I said, "I certainly don't try to be"

"I know that Angela" Flash said, "Other people don't know that. That's one of your biggest problems, you often do things without thinking. Because of that your actions are viewed as selfish and asinine"

"They are not!" I protested.

"Another thing" Flash said, "You don't react to criticism well"

"I'm reacting very well right now," I said. "I'm trying to change!" Flash smiled. "What?"

"That's what I see in you" Flash said, "Someone who wants to be a better person. Angela, do you know what's sometimes better then success?"

"No, what?"

"Trying" Flash said, "You wanna be a better person, try! The others will see that, they will forgive you"

"How can I try?" I said, "Help me out" Flash sighed, and nodded.

"Okay, first off, your the type of pokemon others can unload on"

"You just said I was stubborn with a short temper!"

"That's only when interacting a lot with other pokemon" Flash said, "When begins telling a story, you get quiet. You listen, even though you clearly don't want to, and you offer encouragement. That's the Angela people like. The problem is that Angela goes away way to quickly. Be that Angela, be open and kind. Start conversations with people rather then ignore them"

"Why would I do that?"

"So you can get to know people better" Flash said, "You can learn more about others just by talking then any other way. You can create bonds with others, actual friendships rather then incidental ones!"

"...Why did I start talking to you again?"

* * *

"I want you to travel with us" Michael said.

"I-I can't do that" Robin said, "You're friends hate me. They hate me on levels no people should possess. I would make things awkward"

"Screw them" Michael said, "They don't have to travel with me. I've made enough money to go on without Louis, beating The Lucas gave me enough. I want you with me Robin, damn it, it would be good for both of us"

"Maybe, I'll think about it" Robin said, "You have pokemon, go check on them, you haven't seen them all night"

"Yeah, I gotta do that" Michael said. His stomach started to grumble loudly. "I also need breakfast. You wanna come with me?"

"In a few minutes" Robin said, "I need to get dressed"

"Okay, I'll be waiting" With that Michael headed out, Robin was left alone. She smiled to herself.

"You can come out now" Not Meowth appeared above Robin. "I need to know two things?"

"What?"

"One, can you get me a new outfit" Robin said, "One that isn't a pants suit. Two, can you teleport me to Mossdeep?"

* * *

Nine hours later the sun was up, the others were awake, I was still a student in Flash's charm school. By now we had moved into the bathroom part of this hell.

"Situation number 935 E" Flash began, "Rush comes to you and starts talking about how great it is to be alive what is the incorrect reaction?"

"Who gives a fuck?" I said/cried.

"Angela, you do" Flash continued, lecturing me. "What is the incorrect response?"

"Threatening to twist his head until it pops off" I said, "Then using it for a tennis ball"

"Correct! What is the appropriate response?"

"To say that's fascinating, and try to start a conversation" I said.

"With out being condescending, but correct" Flash smiled. "You're starting to get good at this Angela" The door opened, and we all turned to the doorway.

"Hey guys" Michael said, "Let's get Louis and Lisa, then get something to eat" We all followed him, though I stayed towards the back of the group with Flash.

"Now I think the first thing you should do" Flash said, "Is start a conversation with someone who you don't talk with much. I say Shu"

"Why Shu?" I asked, looking back at the albino Mightyena. He was looking at his claws, and looked like he was about to cry.

"He's all but alone, the only other he regularly talks to is Streak. That warped woman Dana kept both of them. You're a reborn, you can relate right there"

"Maybe, I'll think about it" I said. Michael banged on Louis and Lisa's door.

"Guys, going to breakfast"

"Will meet you there" Louis called out. Michael shrugged.

"I wonder if they know I know they're involved" He mumbled. We headed off to the breakfast buffet, the smell of pancakes and bacon wafting through the air. Michael grabbed a plate and began to load up with crap. He sat down at a table, and we all sat around. I jumped into his lap, and he looked down at me.

"You were in there with Robin all night" I said, "What happened?" Michael didn't look at me, instead focusing on the moving forks full of eggs around. "Michael, I will not be ignored!"

"Definitely won't allow yourself to be ignored" Michael said, "We'll talk later" Louis and Lisa finally walked up. Michael looked at them, and choked. "Oh dear lord"

"What?" They asked in unison. Louis looked like a retarded tennis player, while Lisa looked like a homeless millionaire.

"It's been a long night" Lisa said.

Understatement of the millennium.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later Robin still hadn't shown up, Michael still hadn't eaten his eggs, or told Louis and Lisa about wanting Robin to travel with them, and I still hadn't left his lap.

"I have to go see her" Michael said.

"I say don't" Lisa said, "I say toss her off of the boat"

"You have a doobie in your hair" Michael said. As she messed with that, Michael stood up and knocked on the ground.

"Ow! Hey, that wasn't nice!" Michael started walking, and I followed close behind. "You're not leaving me behind"

"Believe me Angela, you're not going to enjoy what you're about to hear" Michael said. We made it back to Robin's room, and knocked on the door. "Robin, are you, the door slowly swung open.

The room was empty. On the bed were several pants suits, and the empty jar that once housed the money we won from The Lucas.


	103. Sunday in Mossdeep

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CIII: Sunday in Mossdeep**

While we were standing in the doorway to Robin's room, Louis and Lisa were back at our table. Louis was eating, and Lisa was working on a crossword in the news paper she stole. The paper was two days old, but the cross word was still good.

"Hey Lisa" Louis began, "Do you think its odd that we live in a world where every one on the planet has a pokemon, who is trained enough to know multiple attacks, that every one is obsessed so much with battling that they use it to settle every single problem they have, that multiple organizations with uncreative names have plans that almost always focus around using pokemon for exceptionally stupid reasons rather then doing something sensible, like stock piling weapons, and are then dismantled by pairs of children with equally dumb names who manage to defeat the organizations much more experienced leaders in pokemon battles, and that no country on the planet seems to have any sort of organized government?"

"Of course not" Lisa said, ignoring Louis and his spontaneous burst of genius, "I need help with this one. Twelve letters, a story with no plot but a great ending" Louis thought about it.

"Masturbation" Lisa shot him a look. "What?"

"He's not wrong" Enfer mumbled, "That was something I learned during the last years of my marriage" It was about that time that we made it back to the table. Michael hadn't said a single thing since discovering the empty room.

"Where's Whorey Mcslut-slut?" Lisa asked, not looking up. "As long as I don't have to eat breakfast with her, I'm happy"

"Robin's gone" Michael said, getting both of their attention. "I have no idea where Robin went, but she's gone"

"She's some where on the ship" Louis said, "And you can go look for her on your own later"

"Aw, thanks you guys for caring" Michael said sarcastically, "But what I mean is she's not on the ship"

"You can't know that" Lisa said.

"Well, she left all of her clothing in her room" Michael said, "Along with an empty jar that was once full of money that I won from a pokemon battle on this damn ship. So according to you, Robin is walking around nude on a ship, carrying an arm load of money" Louis and Lisa paused, before responding.

"Yeah, that's what we think happened"

* * *

The Hoenn pokemon league received the first letter on that same morning of our voyage of the damned. The letter was delivered in a plain brown envelope, with a fake return address. It was delivered to Marcy Rhoden, a woman who worked in the mail sorting room of the League main office.

Marcy had a special job, to sort out and check out suspicious letters. Their were different protocols if they suspected a packadge of being a bomb, but if it was a letter from a loon, she had the authority to open the letter.

"Dear op-oppressors? Is that oppressors of Pokemon?" Marcy asked herself, struggling to read the broken English. "The ensalvment, not enslavement I see, of our pokemon brotheron(?) has gone on long enough. Cancle the up comming Ever Grande City Torumant, I don't even know what that means, or esle people will die. Suncirly The Pokemon Liberating (Shouldn't that be liberation?) Circle" Marcy sighed, and dropped the letter in the metal trash can by her feet.

"Their are a lot of crazies out there" She mumbled.

* * *

Two days later, Robin still hadn't been seen, and we had pulled into port. It took over an hour to get out of the rooms, and off of the boat, despite the fact we had nothing with us. Finally, after what seemed like weeks of travel, we were in Mossdeep.

Mossdeep city is an odd little place, a small island with a large city. They used to launch and land space shuttles there, but about ten years ago, they decided to stop that. I think it's because they realized just how fucking stupid it was to launch and land space shuttles, on a small island with houses all around.

The city its self reeks of the ocean, worse though then even Lillycove. This time the ocean was on all sides of my, and their was no way in hell for me to escape. The buildings were all coated in sea water blowing in from the ocean, and the grass and trees grew out of control here. The cement we stood on was soaked with water, but from a heavy rain, not the ocean.

"Glad to be off of that ship" I said, "The ocean hasn't gotten me yet"

"I don't mind the ocean" Shu said. He had been walking beside me, and the sunlight reflecting off of his albino fur.

"I don't care what you" Flash's voice suddenly rang out in my head, him and his damn unbitch lessons. "S-Shu" I stammered, "Tell me about yourself" Shu gave me a look.

"Why would you care about me?" Urge to curse rising. I opened my mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

"Out of Pecha's way, puny mortals!" Pecha cried, riding on the back of her noble steed. By this point in time she was twice the size of Nel, in addition to being really fat. Nel was wheezing as she took each step, and ended up collapsing. "No lollygaging noble steed!" Pecha cried, smacking Nel.

"Yes master" Nel stood up, and started dragging Pecha's fat ass.

"When Pecha rules, she will slaughter all the humans who bow down" Pecha cried, "Pecha will make it a law so ever 5th word a pokemon says will be replaced with the word Chu!"

"Chu isn't a word you"

"Silence! The next word out of your mind must be Chu!"

"Chu you then" I said, sticking out my tongue. Shu snickered as he watched Pecha walk by, ranting and raving.

"Pecha would get along very well with some of the dictators we had in Orre" Shu said.

"Where did you live in Orre?" I asked, "Tell me about it?" Shu sighed.

"I lived in the waste lands" Shu said, "Me, my mother, and my sister. They once tried to build a city out there, except it was destroyed. After having two teams with really stupid names lay waste to the country, our government all but fell apart. My family moved out to the city with no name because my mom got a good deal. Then the government fell apart, and it became everyone for themselves. All the major towns and cities became their own little countries, satellite countries unnoted. Our city though had never fully developed, and it became it's own wasteland"

We were interrupted by our group stopping. It was only then that I realized we had been walking and talking through half of Mossdeep, and we were at a hotel. The hotel was one story, and stood facing the ocean. It was a semi-cloudy day, and the sun light peaked down on us from between the clouds.

Michael and Louis went into the hotel for a few minutes, and came out holding three keys.

"Seeing as I have no interest in going to sleep yet" Michael said, "What do you guys want to do for the afternoon" Lisa began to twitch,

"Their is a-uh-game corner" Lisa said, gulping, "Here in Mossdeep. Why don't we just"

"No!" Everyone, human and pokemon, said in unison. Lisa began to pout.

"I dunno, let's just walk around Mossdeep" Louis said, "It's a beautiful city" Mossdeep was also a large city on a small island, and I had no interest in walking around. I voted to lay around in the sunlight.

I was overturned. As we walked through this miserable city, I decided to continue talking to Shu.

"So, what was life like in the waste land?" Shu smiled a miserable smile. "If you d-don't want to talk about it, I'll be okay" I hadn't cursed since getting off of the ship, the longest I had gone in my entire life. It hurt me inside, like a parasite eating away at me.

"No, I don't mind" Shu said. "Well, despite the fact our nameless city wasn't a good drug smuggling or weapon smuggling route, the gangs moved in pretty quickly. They stole any thing that wasn't nailed down or on fire. Anything that was, they blew up. After a month, my mother, sister, and I had almost begun to live entirely in our house. We only left for supply runs, and most of the time it was my mother who did it. She didn't want me or my sister to leave the house"

Now just for the record, Shu's mother and sister had a real name. I just forgot what they were. Believe it or not I've gotten fuzzy on little details over the years.

"On one of those supply runs" Shu said, "My mom drove into town at night, to steal whatever she could find. Well, that night I went outside to smoke"

"You smoked?"

"Picked it up when I was twelve. Anyways, when outside smoking, I found a man collapsed in front of the burned out shell that was our house. He had an assault rifle on his back, and his skin was turning yellow. Not really sure what that means, but it wasn't good"

"I think it means his liver was failing" I said, "My adopted parents were both alcoholics. I know all about liver problems"

"I guess" Shu said, "Any ways his name was Something Yad, I don't care. He was a member of the Orre Unity Legion"

"The what?"

"A group who" Shu began, "Wanted to drive gangs and war lords out of Orre, and re-establish a central government. Well I brought him inside and gave him some water. My sister was against it, but I couldn't leave a man to die" It took all of my energy not to ask, Why not?

"What happened after that?" I asked. We stopped at an ice cream stand. Michael handed down a vanilla cup for me, and Lisa handed one down for Shu.

I began to lick the cup, getting ice cream all over my black snout. It tasted great though, much better then the dirty pokecrap. The thing was, when I was human, I didn't like ice cream. When you're a pokemon though, it's so sweet it brings tears to your eyes.

"Well Yad left before my mom got back, and I thought that was that. The next day though, nine of them showed up demanding supplies. Well my mom agreed, and the nine of them started staying with us! Truth is, they were all bastards. They did teach me a few things. They taught me how to fight, how to use a gun, and I even managed to teach them something"

"What did you teach them?" I asked.

"How to make a zip gun" Shu said, "When they showed up, I had been living under our burned out house for three years. You learn how to do things. I took things, and learned how they were put together. I rigged a net once from a set of 20 silk napkins my Mom had brought with us from Pyrite town. I taught them how to make zip guns using the tubing of a coffee percolator, a block of wood, a rubber band, some gun powder, and little pieces of metal. I made a grapple gun with a sump pump!"

"Did any of the things you taught them matter?" Shu shrugged. He had a splotch of white on his pink nose.

"I have no idea, eventually those dick heads moved on to somewhere else. I did end up putting what they taught me to use" Shu sighed. "One night, a few weeks later, I thought I heard someone moving about in the ruins of our house. My mom and sister were asleep on their cots, so I went up through the secret door that lead to our basement. Well, I was right.

"Their was a man in black walking through our house, looking over the burned out remnants. I had a knife, strapped to my leg, always strapped to my leg" Shu began blinking rapidly. His breathing was labored, I could hear his heart with my giant ears. "I ran to him when he had his back turned to me. I ran and pulled out the knife. I jumped, oh fuck I jumped" Shu's voice was beginning to crack.

"Uh, Shu? Maybe we should"

"I cut his throat" Shu said, "Oh Christ, I cut his throat! Dear God help me, I cut his fucking throat! Fuck"

"SHU!" I screamed. Shu stopped ranting. He laughed nervously, his eyes regaining some light in them.

"Heh, sorry about that. Anyways, killing a man really turns you off to eating meat ever again. I decided I was a veg head right then and there. Well, I needed to hide this losers body, so I dragged it out of my house, and dumped it about two hundred yards away. I left it there to rot, went back to bed, and tried not to think about it. I went back to bed, and assumed nothing would happen" Shu actually lied about a few things in that story, but more on that later.

"Common sense says that the gang or militia would know about where they sent their solider"

"You don't say!" Shu exclaimed sarcastically. "You know, you would be a great person to have the day after a disaster"

"You know, we can stop talking right now" I said, finishing the last of the ice cream.

"No, no. I don't want that" Shu said, "And you're right, they did come looking. Nine of them came looking for me. They came to what was our house. We were so frightened, we hid in what once had been our basement. They found us though, I thought they were going to kill us. I was right, for once in my life I was right"

"Fuck Shu, I'm sorry" I said. Shu sighed.

"Eh, it's okay" Shu said. "Let's talk about something more pleasant. Why did you decide to talk to me?" I smiled at him.

"I'm trying to be a better person" I said, "Have I succeeded" Shu shrugged again.

"I don't know, but at least I like you" Well, I now had officially one friend in our little team.

I guess that counts for something.


	104. Why We Lost In Mossdeep

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CIV: Why We Lost In Mossdeep**

The Mossdeep gym is something of a joke in Hoenn, and among gym leaders in general. Liza and Tate are an embarrassment as gym leaders because they can't battle, because the can't train pokemon, and battle in what could only be described as battle pajamas. Not only that, but I'm pretty sure those two are boffing each other. I can't prove it, but the signs are there.

Any one of the starters works well, except of course Blaziken. Swampert and Sceptile are neutral against the psychic part of Liza and Tate's pokemon, rather they're strong against the ones who are half ground/rock. The exception it that stupid Xatu, flying-psychic piece of shit.

I know I haven't said about the two of them, but their really isn't much to say, these two are a steaming pile of nothing. They suck as gym leaders, they're not much better as trainers, and as humans they're iffy.

* * *

"What do you think of this one?" Michael asked, putting on another stupid looking trainers shirt. "I think it looks ugly, and it itches like crazy"

"Who cares" Louis said, "Just buy the damn thing"

"I'm telling you, those colors are in this year" Lisa said, "You need to buy that shirt"

"This shirt has every color!"

"So it's guaranteed to have the ones that are in" Lisa said. Michael pulled the shirt off, and grabbed one exactly the same as the one that had burned up in the fire.

"Alright" He said, handing it to Louis along with a pile of clothes. "Now I need a new belt"

"Why do I have to carry everything?" Louis said.

"You set the house on fire!" The exclaimed.

We were in a department store in the Mossdeep Central Mall, which consisted of a bunch of stores that all sold crap. Michael was getting a new wardrobe to replace the one that burned up in the fire. The only ones of us allowed out were those who didn't have pokeballs, so just me and Enfer.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" Enfer asked me. I shook my head. "Really? Tate and Liza are the seventh gym leader"

"I like how you talk about them like one person" I said, "That isn't even entirely wrong. The two of them battle together, work together, eat together, live together, and I'm pretty sure fuck together"

"Angela!"

"Well what do you think?" I asked. "The two are always together in public, always together at home, and hold hands when seen at Ever Grande!"

"....Maybe" Enfer said, finally giving in. "I guess it's entirely possible. It would explain a lot of things about the two. We've gotten off subject though, why aren't you nervous?"

"Double battling is a bad idea" I said, "It was supposed to be the next big thing, but most trainers were to stupid to see through cheap gimmicks. Also doesn't help that Tate and Liza have the worst record in Hoenn, we'll be fine"

"This is the belt for me" Michael said, holding up a black belt with a buckle so shiny, you went blind. "Not only that, but it's been marked down to 32. Cents. Odd, it's extremely cheap"

"Why is that?" Lisa asked. She tapped the shoulder of a woman currently fixing a display of gay looking men's shirts. "Excuse me miss, why is this marked down"

"I'm a guy" The worked said, causing Lisa to turn red.

"Uh, I'm sorry"

"No you're not" The man said.

"You're right, I'm not and your snippy. Why is this marked down?" The worked sighed, and grabbed the belt. He sighed, and handed it back.

"That belt is defective" He said.

"How is it defective?" Michael asked, "It can't be defective, it's a belt. As long as it's in one piece, it isn't defective"

"Alright sir" The snippety man said, "You're clearly a trainer, try clipping a ball to it" Michael laughed, and clipped one ball to the belt. The ball automatically came unclipped, and hit the ground. Michael looked at it, then at the others.

"This proves nothing, I'm still getting the belt"

* * *

"In Johto, we had a phrase for people in Hoenn" Lisa said, "Those morons who love double battles. Except, double battles really suck"

"Double battles were a fad that never caught on" Michael said, "The Hoenn Pokemon Association wanted desperately to be the double-battle association, not sure why. The thing is, double battles are horrible, and no one willingly does them"

"I've never fought one" Lisa said, "I fought in Johto"

"Well good for you"

It was the next day, mid-afternoon. We sat in the lobby of the Mossdeep gym, another trainer currently battling Tate and Liza. Before you ask, no that other trainer was not Robin, she doesn't show up again for awhile. We were all out by now, stretching and getting ready.

"Now just remember" I told every one here, "We're battling two at a time. I'm the strongest one in this battle, due to being immune to their stupid psychic attacks. Bane, you're the weakest, weak against every thing except the rock half of Solrock and Lunatone"

"You don't need to lecture me" Bane said.

"We're two gyms away from Ever Grande" I said, "I'll stay up all night long singing Nazi military chants if it gets you guys to win battles"

"Winning isn't every thing" Rush said, "If you always won, you'd never enjoy it!"

"Quiet hippie!" I snarled.

"Tell Pecha something!" Pecha proclaimed, sitting on her noble steed of Nel. "These "'psychic-type trainers'", how strong are the powers of their psychic? Strong enough to warp the minds of the weak? To help Pecha rule the world?"

"Pecha, they wouldn't help you rule a Burger King" Shu said to the ranting rodent. Pecha growled at this.

"You will not mock the Chu!"

"If he can't, can I?" I asked. As Pecha began to scream in pure rage, Michael and the rest of us were called.

We walked out in to the Mossdeep arena, when I noticed the entire floor was purple, the color of psychic. Dear God, you know it's bad when you realize a battle will sunk just because the floor is purple.

Michael took his place on the challengers mat, having recalled all but me. I stood by his side, and looked up at him.

"So, what's your plan?" Michael shrugged. "Shrug? Shrug is not an answer"

"It's the only answer your getting Angie" He said crossly. Before he could continue, Tate and Liza came out, although I wasn't sure which was which at first. I did however notice the two holding hands.

"We are Tate and Liza" They said in unison, "We are the gym leaders for Mossdeep. We assume you are here to battle?"

"We, er I are, or am? Yeah, I want to battle" Michael said.

"Good, visitor is allowed to go first" Tate said, finally not talking with his sister. Michael unclipped two pokeballs from his defective belt.

"Alright, come out Titan and Bane" I looked up at him sharply.

"Titan and Bane? While Titan isn't weak against the psychic half of the equation, you must assume they'll use Claydoll first. Not only that, but Bane is a freaking sitting duck!" Michael ignored me though, and sent our two least prepared pokemon out.

"We send out Claydoll" Liza said.

"And Xatu" Tate said.

"Xatu, that was a brilliant choice brother" Liza said, whispering in her brothers ear (my freak ears still heard it).

"Brilliant choice? You have four pokemon!" I cried. Didn't matter, the first match was set. Titan and Bane vs. a giant creepy doll, and a bald bird.

"Titan, rock throw on Xatu, Bane, force palm creepy doll!" Titan began to pull rocks out of the ground, which were also purple, and toss them at Xatu. Xatu, dogged down, and swooped down at Bane, grabbing the little Riolu in its beak.

"Hey, no fair" Titan growled.

"Earth quake Claydoll" Tate and Liza said. The ground under Titan began to shake like crazy, but only his feet. He tried to turn around, but he tripped over his tail and hit the ground hard.

"Okay, that hurt" Titan pulled out a rock and pitched it at Claydoll. While it smashed and did no damage, it more a moral victory. Claydoll barely noticed, all of its eyes just staring. Yep, it's official. Claydoll would haunt my nightmares.

Bane did the force palm like Michael ordered, hoping to paralyze Xatu. Instead, it pissed off Xatu, who tossed Bane into the air.

"Peck several times Tate and Liza said. Xatu rapidly pecked Bane's little back, keeping him in mid-air almost like they were bouncing him. When they stopped, Bane was bleeding from his back. Xatu grabbed him by one ear, and his arm hung limply.

"Fling!" They said.

"Endure!" Michael cried. Bane used the last of his energy to curl up as the tossed Bane straight into the ground.

"Oh Christ that hurt" Bane mumbled, uncurling. Xatu flew at Bane, hitting him in the chest with its wings. Bane had survived the first attack, he didn't make it through this one.

"Okay, what went wrong there?" I asked Michael, "Aside from barely ordering any attacks, you sent your two weakest people out first"

"Shut up Angel" Michael growled. He unclipped Bane's ball, and recalled him. "Rush, you're up next"

"Kip!" Rush exclaimed, as he emerged on field. "Yay, time to battle!"

"Rush, use Hydro-pump on Claydoll, then Titan rock-throw on Xatu" Rush charged at Claydoll, tiny mouth open as wide as it would go. He unleashed a torrent of water on the creepy hunk of dirt, but not before it got out one last attack.

"Earthquake again Claydoll" Tate and Liza ordered. The ground shook, and pitched Titan all about. His face smashed into the purple floor, leaving a large dent.

"It'll take a lot more then that to knock me out" A wave of purple ground came up, and slammed into Titan, throwing him onto his back. "Yep, that'll do it" Passed out, Michael had no choice but to recall him.

Rush's hydro-pump hit dead on, knocking Claydoll back. It continued to hover though, and wouldn't go down.

"Good job Claydoll, you've" Claydoll fell out of the sky and hit the ground, completely still. The two stared at it for a moment. "Damn it"

"Lunatone, you're next" The two said in unison"

"Flash, you're out also" Michael said, recalling Titan and sending out Flash. Flash let out a bright set of sparks as he appeared. "Flash, thunder bolt on Xatu, Rush water gun Lunatone"

"Lunatone, avoid" They said, "And use Psychic. Xatu, avoid and drill peck" Flash began to fire multiple thunder bolts at Xatu, who avoided, and charged at Flash with a drill peck. Xatu hit Flash in the chest, doing next to know damage. As any one with a brain cell knows, flying-types suck against electric.

How the hell did the two make it as one gym leader?

"Grab and thunder punch" Michael ordered. Flash grabbed Xatu by the neck.

"I'm terribly sorry, please don't think bad of me" He then punched Xatu in the chest, his fist crackling with electricity.

_I don't think bad of you._

Xatu collapsed in Flash's hands, completely limp. Flash set it on the ground, as Tate and Liza with drew the bird.

"You fought well" They said in unison, kissing the ball together. In fact the only the thing between the two was the pokeball, and it was shrunk down. One of them put it into their battle pajamas, and pulled out another ball, the last one. "Go, Solrock"

"Two rock-psychic types" I said, "Not only that, but the two weakest in existence. Michael, you should recall Flash and send me out"

"No thanks" Michael said. "Flash, thunder wave Solrock, Rush whirlpool on Lunatone"

"Michael, do it!" I cried.

A swirling wave of water shot up, surrounding Lunatone. Lunatone tried to break through, and hit the wall instead. Lunatone bounced back, then foreword, then sideways, until it was bouncing like a pin ball.

"Double rock-tomb the Ampharos" They said in unison. Why the hell were these two a psychic-type gym, if they never used psychic-type attacks. Flash tried to zap the rocks, but they ended up crashing down on him.

"I'm okay!" Flash said, climbing out of the rocks, "Not going down yet"

"Now double psychic!" Purple energy surrounded Flash, and lifted him off of the ground. They slammed him into the ceiling, then ground, then ceiling again before letting him go.

"Still not done" Flash said, shaking as he stood up on shaky, bleeding feet.

"Now double earthquake" The ground on Flash began to shake rapidly, throwing him all over the place. One large head wound said it all, out cold.

"Come back Flash" Michael said, recalling the Ampharos.

"SEND OUT THE UMBREON!" I cried, my inky fur standing up on end.

"Sharon, you're up" I sighed. The Flygon emerged on the field, flipping through the air.

"Fun! Fun fun fun fun fun fun" Sharon stopped and looked at Solrock. "Play!" Sharon shot out at Solrock like a cork out of a champagne bottle, grabbing it in embrace. She then slammed it into the ground, and began pummeling it.

"Dragon claw Sharon" Sharon's claw's glowed off blue, and she dug into Solrock. Solrock's eyes bulged out (I think), it gasped, and went stiff. Rock-types don't go limp, they go stiff.

"Lunatone, pull out!" They cried out. Lunatone finally stopped bouncing, as the whirlpool at last ended. Lunatone began to shake in mid-air. Rush did one last unneeded water gun, and Lunatone hit the ground.

"We've lost" Liza said, as she withdrew Lunatone. "Brother, we have lost" She turned to Tate, looking him in the eyes.

"I know sister, but the day will go on" Tate said, "Life will go on" Their faces began to move closer.

"Uh, not to interrupt or anything" Michael said, "You two can go off and do what you want, when ever you want, how ever many times you want (!), but can I have my badge first?"

We won. Fuckin' A.

* * *

"We lost" Michael said. It was later that evening, and we were in our motel room. Lisa and Louis were next door, and everyone was asleep. Everyone except me. I yawned, and looked up at him.

"What do you mean, we got the damn badge, we definitely won! Three cheers for the victors, and all that jazz" I rolled over to go to sleep.

"No, we definitely lost" Michael said, "Not the team, you and me"

"Michael, you did a great job!"

"Then explain to me why it took me five pokemon to beat four of Tate and Liza's? Explain why I only issued a half a dozen commands?" Michael sighed, "I was to distracted by being mad at you!"

"Stop being mad then" I mumbled. What Michael said next shocked me to my very core.

"I'm going to have to" Michael said, "I have to get over being mad, and stop acting like an asshole. I can't leave Mossdeep until I do"

"We'll have to explain to Louis and Lisa" I reminded.

"Fine, we'll do it. If they don't believe me, I don't care" He looked down at my tiny head. "If I'm getting over being mad, can you do something for me?" I sighed.

"What Michael?"

"Give up cursing" He said, "Completely as long as I live"

Give up cursing?

Oh frick.


	105. The Glamorous Life

****

National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help

**CV: The Glamorious Life**

Time almost seemed to freeze as Michael spoke those words. I laughed nervously, it was all a bad joke.

"Heh, no" I said, "Not giving up cursing. I'll give up my fur, my tail, or Rush. You can have them all, not the cursing" Michael frowned. "What?"

"I'm serious Angela"

"So am I! I wouldn't be Angela without cursing! I wouldn't be funny without it! I wouldn't even be an Umbreon"

"You wouldn't be an Umbreon?" Michael asked in a flat voice.

"Okay, maybe that would be a tad extreme" I said, "But you understand what I mean. I need to curse! Do you know what my life would be without cursing?"

"Quiet?"

"I can't live the quiet life!" I exclaimed. "I need to be loud!"

"Of course" Michael said sarchasticly. He sighed, "How about for just one day? Can you go without cursing for one day" I paused. I then opened my mouth and unleashed every profane, obscene, or blasphemis word I knew. I unleash them for so long Michael's jaw dropped and his face turned white.

"Sorry about that, needed to use of those words if I wasn't going to say them tomorrow"

"Y-you most of those on a daily basis?"

"You would be surprised" I said. "I agree though. In other, more disturbing news, we're really telling Lisa and Louis tomorrow?"

"They're going to freak out" Michael said, grinning. "What should we tell them to prove that you're who I claim you are. Something you could only know by spying on all of us"

"Oh" I exclaimed, "I could tell them your middle name is Henrich" Michael grimaced. "What?"

"How about something I wouldn't know?" I grinned evily.

"What?"

"I've got just the thing"

* * *

The next thing came far to slowly, seeing as I didn't sleep, so much as I tossed. I just sat on Michael's chest tossing my little body back and forth. When morning came, I could barley hold my head up. Finaly, the sun came up, and Michael woke up. He began to stroke my fur softly.

"How did you sleep Angie?" Michael asked.

"As well as expected" I mumbled.

"Not at all?"

"Exactly" Michael pulled himself up, and stretched. "Come on, Lisa and Louis will be down there, we need to talk to them" As we walked to the door, everyone else in the room stood up and looked at us. Michael looked at them and smilled. "Sorry guys, me and Angel only"

Louis and Lisa were already down in the lobby, Enfer there with them. Enfer was the only other pokemon there, good news for us.

"Hey Michael" Lisa said, not looking up from her breakfast. "Today we should look at getting tickets off of this rock so we can get to the next gym as soon as possible"

"We're not leaving, at least not any time soon" This got both of their attention. Louis and Lisa looked at us, concerned.

"Why are we not leaving?" Lisa asked, her voice hinting that she was afraid to hear the answer.

"Angela and I have something to tell you" Now the two looked at each other, then Michael like he was crazy.

"Angela?" Louis asked, "Dead fat friend Angela?"

"I wasn't that fat!" I protested.

"Angela isn't dead" Michael said, "A few weeks ago, right after I had kissed Robin, I found out my Umbreon Angel is actually Angela reincarnated" Louis and Lisa shared another quick look. Lisa grabbed the knife she had been using with breakfast, and took it off the table.

"Uh, Michael. Angela is dead" Lisa said, letting out a nervous chuckle, "She's not your Umbreon"

"Yes she is, she talks to me" Michael said. Louis attempted to stand up, but Lisa grabbed his balls and squeezed. Louis let out a noise, his knees bent, he hit his head on the table, and finaly collapsed.

"Michael, maybe you've been doing to much" Lisa said, "Maybe now it's a good time to take a break from this all"

"Angel" Michael said to me, "Tell me something about Lisa that I wouldn't know, that only you could have seen. Something she might have been doing when she thought no one was looking" I grinned wickedly.

"Tell her I know about Steven" I said, and Michael translated. Lisa laughed slowly.

"S-Steven? Their is no Steven" She looked down at me, "You shut up, you hear!"

"Angel?" Michael asked, "Who is Steven?"

"I'll tell you, but you have to translate for me" I said, giggling. "Steven is a long, purple, plastic, dil"

"Okay!" Lisa cried, "I belive I believe" Louis slowly pulled himself out from underneath the table. His forehead had a big purple bruse on it.

"What happened?" Louis asked, looking around.

"We believe now" Lisa said, "Angel is Angela reborn"

"We do?" Louis asked, slurring his words slightly.

"Yes"

"....Okay" Louis shrugged, and looked at his juice. "I need a drink, an actual drink if I'm going to deal with this crap. Where can I get a mamosa? Or a Long Island Ice Tea, I would so kill for one. I'd slaughter that waitress over there for a Bloody Mary" Now Louis was salivating, "So we're in agreement? I'll kill the waitress, then we all go out for a Bloody Mary" We all stared at Louis, mouth agape. "I think I need to go to see a doctor, I think hitting my head on the table gave me a concussion"

"You know Louis" Michael said, "I never used to believe that stupid could be a vocation. Then I met, you, and you proved me wrong"

"I learned that the first time I met Rush" I mumbled to myself.

"Can I ask a question?" Lisa asked, raising her hand. "How exactly did you get Eevee-fied Angel?"

"It's Angela" I snarled, "Michael, tell them for me, I'm to tired"

"Tell them yourself" Michael said crossly, "I'll translate for you, but I'm not letting you be lazy" Lousy bastard, if I want to be lazy, I'll be lazy!

"Are we sure he hasn't just lost his mind?" Louis whispered, "I can have him knocked out, and we can have him in a rubber room at the nervous home in a few hours. Then I can spen the rest of the night making you squeal"

"Angela?" Enfer asked, "Why are you doing this?" I looked down at my very concerned mother, "I don't think you should tell them"

"It's not my idea" I said, "It's Michaels" Enfer sighed.

"Don't tell them about our relationship. Tell them that I'm reborn if you want, but not who I am, please?"

"But Enfer"

"Please!" Enfer begged. I sighed, and nodded.

"Well" I began, with Michael translating, "I died because I killed myself, except I tried to stop it, and I kind of failed. Then I fell through my rope and through the floor"

"Through the floor?" They cried.

"I'm a reborn, talking Umbreon girl, and that's the part that surprises you?" I asked. "Well I fell into the center of the earth, and Mew was there. At least I thought it was the center of the earth, they called it Eternity. It's this big black everything, never ending space. I was floating there, and Mew said some crap about me being able to come back if I agreed to come back as a pokemon"

"Did you agree?" Louis asked. We all looked over at him.

"How do you manege to breathe?" Michael asked.

"Well I agreed" I said, "And I was reborn as an Eevee"

"How do you get to talk to Michael?" Lisa asked.

"Oh that's something I don't completely understand" I said, "Not Meowth set that little deal up for me"

"Whose Not Meowth?" Louis asked.

"I don't even know that one" Michael said. "Whose Not Meowth Angela?" I sighed, and tried to figure out how best to explain that. When trying to explain a metaphysicall concept to people who've never visited the otherside, the only thing you get is a head ache.

"Well Not Meowth is a semi-deity, stronger then the legendaries" I said, "But weaker also, he's got a bunch of vaugly defined rules he has to follow. He's like a supernatural Green Lantern, minus the power ring and ultra sexy Alan Scott" I nearly got wet just thinking about him, "Eh-hem, he occasionaly appears to me, and fucks around me for his own personal amusment I think, I dunno"

"Where did he come from? Are their more of them? Are their any evil ones?"

"I don't know for the first one, I think so for the second one, and as for the third" I paused, "Yes, their are evil Not Pokemon, I know of one. If mine is Alan Scott, then the she is Sinestro. I call her Not Milotic" I said, "Not Milotic, is an evil, hate filled bitch. She exists to cause chaos, to kill, except I'm pretty sure that she can't" Michael pulled me closer to his body, and began to stroke his fur.

"Listen" Michael said, "I don't know what she did, but I promiss I wont let any thing happen to you again. If she tries to mess with you, you tell me, and I'll take care of it" The thought of Michael taking care of Not Milotic made me laugh, but I resisted.

"Okay, I'll be sure to tell you" I said. "Now, anymore questions?" Louis and Lisa looked at each other, and Lisa whispered a few words in Louises ears. He nodded rappidly, grinning.

"Do we have any reborns?" Louis asked.

"Yep" I said, "Michaels got me and Bane, Lisa you've got Shu, and Louis you've got Enfer"

"Shu/Enfer is a reborn!" They cried. "How did we not know?"

"Because you two are dense?" I said. Michael for obvious reasons, chose not to translate that for me. "Truth be told, when you're reborn, instincts come with it to a certain degree. You end up relying more on your sense of smell then your eyes or overly large ears. When you feel affectionet, you lick people, and you never understand why. These littte things are what disguise most reborns from humans"

"Tell me about Shu" Lisa said, "Tell me, what I don't know" I shrugged.

"Well alright" I said, "Shu is from Orre, when the goverment fell apart. He got killed by soliders he said. He can build a gun from coffe filters, PVC pipe, and a wooden block. He's a vegaterian, because he once killed a man and it turned him off to blood"

"What about when he was with Dana?" Lisa asked, "What happened in that era?" I froze, unable to respond.

"You know" I said, "I don't really have an answer for that. Dana hit Shu over the head with something heavy, and he's more or less his memory of that era of his life"

"What was his real name?"

"His real name" I said, "It was BLJ&%(" Okay, that wasn't it, but I don't remember what his real name was, it's been awhile since then.

"Oh, okay" Lisa said, nodding. "I uh, I don't know how to process this information"

"Who was Enfer?" Louis asked, looking down at the Arcanine. "You were human? Who were you?" Enfer gave a confermation Canine, meaning yes she was human, and I attempted to explain Enfer, without giving away to much.

"Enfer was...a woman named Anna" I said, smiling softly, "She's the kindest woman I've ever known. She helped me so much when I was reborn, that I can never truely repay her for it. Anna is also the fiercist woman I've ever met, and she protects me like a mother protects her child" I blinked back tears, and looked down at Enfer. She was crying, but not a sound came from her, the only noise being her tears hitting the ground. "I love you"

"And I, you" Enfer said.

Louis was dumbstruck by my little rant. He turned away from Enfer, and back to Michael.

"So Enfer, my Louis2, is a reincarnated woman? Named Anna? How did she die? I'll track down the fucker, and kill him" Enfer, unlike me, couldn't contain her laughter. She fell on her back and laughed so hard that I thought she might swallow her tounge.

"Enfer" I began, "Who did kill you?" Enfer froze in mid-laughe. She looked up to me and frowned.

"Angela, do you like talking about your suicide?"

"Of course not"

"Then why would you think I would like talking about my murder?" Enfer asked.

_Besides, the less you know about it, the better. I can't tell you Angela about Chris, _Enfer gulped, _Or Tagger._

"You're right, I suppose" I said, "What else do you want to know?"

"What are our pokemon like?" Louis asked, "The ones who aren't human?" Oh boy.

"Well L3 is obssessed with pot, Wisp is the second most serious person I've ever known, rest in peace Virgil, Nel is scared water, her shadow, music, warriors, night time, songs, and anything else you can think of"

"That's interesting" Lisa said.

"Not done, we've still not gotten to the fun member's of your team. Streak is layed back, don't know much about him (I wouldn't for almost five months, then he ended up becoming one of my closest friends my dear listener. Another story for another day). Pecha, now Pecha is a piece of work" I grinned. "Pecha wants two things, the love of a certain annoying Mudkip, and complete domination of the human race"

"...She wants what?" Lisa asked.

"To be the unchallenged despote of earth" I said, "To rule the world and establish her dynasty, the New Chu Order. Believe me, the fact that you can't understand her is a blessing, she's always saying that, every other word out of her mouth is Chu" Lisa nodded slowly. "Michael can we go back to the room, I'm finally starting to feel tired" Michael nodded, and stood up.

"Wait, we have so many more question!" But we were allready headed back to the room.

"You did great Angel" Michael said, "But I noticed you cursed"

"Yeah, so? I agreed not to curse for one day, never said what day that was"

"We'll see" We came to our door, and Michael opened it quickly. Every one was awake now, and staring at us. I was asleep in Michael's arms, when he said it. "Hey guys, great news. Angela has agreed not to curse for the rest of the day" My eyes shot open as he said that. Oh he was still talking, but it didn't matter.

I guess today was the day I wouldn't curse. Damn it.


	106. Detox

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CVI: Detox**

If any one tells you that you can't be addicted to cursing, tell them to go fuck themselves in the eye socket with a switchblade. You can be addicted to cursing, sweet wonderful cursing, the most natural action in the world. When you do it, you feel like you're flying.

Sadly, as with all addictions, eventually you have to detox.

"Now it'll take us a few hours Ms. Jeffries" The woman holding measuring tape said, "For us to sew together the outfit you requested for your Pikachu, but you're more then entitled to wait if you want"

"Oh yeah, we can wait" Lisa said.

It was about four hours after Michael had told every one I was going to go the day without cursing. It felt like I was dying inside, my insides were trying to claw their way out. I was sweating profusely, I felt to hot, and to cold all at once. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't move.

"It can't be that bad Angela" Enfer said to me, "You've only been detoxing an hour"

"Screw you!" I cried, blinking back tears.

We were all back in the Mossdeep mall, in the You're So Special Pokemon Boutique. Boutique was an exaggeration, all they did was make clothing for pokemon, they would sew together little outfits for them and let you wait for them to finish. For some reason, Lisa had wanted to come here after I told her, Louis, and Michael about Pecha's little speeches. What she was making for Pecha was anyone's guess.

I was sitting in front of Enfer, gritting my teeth, my huge ears drooping down in front of me. I couldn't get them to move, no matter what I tried to do. The lights were to bright, the sounds to loud, all were burning into my brain. Now, when you're in that bad of a mood, the last thing you need is to talk to an unrelenting optimist. Sadly, the universe works on a series of irony, so Rush of course decided to come over and talk to me.

"Hi Angel!" Rush chirped, "How are you doing?" He smiled his little Mudkip smile, on his little Mudkip snout. I tried to bite his throat, going for the jugular, but Enfer held my tail down, causing me to whiplash.

"So that's why I have that worthless appendage" I murmured. Rush sat down in front of me, and gave me an encouraging look.

"Seriously though Angela, how are you doing?" Rush asked. I wanted to claw his eyes out, but I couldn't do it. Partially because I knew he was being sincere, and because Enfer still was holding down my tail. I sighed, and decided to be honest.

"I want you to kill me" I said, "Or let me call you a d.s.o.a.b.f."

"A dumb son of a bitch fucker?" Enfer asked curiously, "Just what goes through your mind Angela?"

"Believe me" I said, "You don't want to know. Can you say it again?"

"Excuse me?"

"Can you curse again? I mean, I know indulging in your vices biproxy isn't nearly as effective as indulging them directly, but it still helps" Enfer gave me a confused look, trying desperately to figure out what I just said. "What?"

"Their are no words" Enfer mumbled. I shrugged, and returned my attention back to Rush.  
"So you're doing well" Rush said, backing up slowly, "I'm just going to"

"Stay!" I ordered. Rush froze in mid-step, gulped, and nodded. "I need someone to snarl at"

"Why do you curse?" Rush asked innocently.

"Why? A stupid stupid question from a stupid stupid kip!" I cried. I then broke down sobbing uncontrollably. Rush came over, and licked me across the nose. I looked up, smiled, and bit his head fin.

"Kiiiiiiip!"

"Die-die-die-die-die-die!" I screamed, fin in my mouth. Enfer picked me up in her mouth, picking up Rush. Enfer shook me up and down, finally causing me to drop Rush, him falling on his blue ass.

"I'm okay!" Rush said, as Wisp ran over to check on him. Pecha, who was on the measurement table, also tried to run over to Rush, but Lisa held her back.

"Cursed human. Prepare to know the wrath of Chu!" Pecha shot a thunder bolt straight up, into the air. Then, and don't ask me how, the bolt came back down and hit Pecha, frying her. "...Pretty lights!" Pecha collapsed on her back, limbs trembling.

"Did Angela hurt you?" Wisp asked. Rush laughed, and shook himself rapidly.

"No, it takes a lot more then that to hurt me" Rush said, "Beside, we have to take pity on Angel"

"Tell me Angel" Wisp said, "How do you think you would look with all of your fur burned off?" She snorted an stream of embers. "If you touch Rush again, you'll find out"

"Oh go to heck!" I shouted. It's hard to sound threatening when that's the best you can do for an obscenity. Enfer set me back down, deciding to let me keep steaming. I looked around the room I was in, and it hit me, this was my life.

The boutique was small, only two rooms, with track lighting. Their was a counter, three chairs, a table, a bunch of bolts of fabric on the wall, and a back room where the woman running the store made the outfits. Lisa and Pecha were on the measurement table, Pecha unsure of why she was here. Louis and Michael were asleep in the chairs, and do to some shifting of their bodies while asleep, they were in each others arms. Lisa debated on weather to wake them up, or take a picture, guess which she picked?

The rest of us, except Sharon, L3, and Titan, were on the floor. Nel was in hiding, mostly because she had said good morning to me, and I shadow balled her in the face. My only regret was I didn't hit her in the brain.

Bane was also hiding from me, because he started to sing The Sound of Music soundtrack, so I tackled him and pulled his legs behind his head. It took Michael fifteen minutes to undo that, while I sat and laughed my ass off.

"Angela, you need to calm down" A new voice, dear God not that voice, any one else. I looked up to see Flash standing there, smiling at me. "It's going to get harder, if you spend all of today in a bad mood"

"You" I snarled, "It's all your fault" Flash laughed, confused.

"Excuse me?" Flash asked.

"You're the guy who put me in that stupid fricking charm school!" I cried out, "You're the one who said I shouldn't curse!"

"And I think you shouldn't" Flash said, "I think it's possible to talk without swearing. I honestly do. It's just, I wanted you to ease into this. Apparently Michael wanted you to stop cold turkey. You can't blame me for that right?" I head butted Flash so hard, I hurt my own head. "I'll take that as a no"

"...No, I don't blame you" I said through gritted teeth, "But I don't like you very much right now"

"That's okay, I don't like me very much either" Flash said, "Maybe talking about something else would help you"

"Alright, start a conversation" I growled. Flash nodded.

"Okay, what else did you want to be Angel?" Flash asked, "If you couldn't be a pokemon trainer, what would you be?"

"If you want to know" I said, "I would have wanted to be a police officer if I could not have been a trainer"

"A police officer?" Enfer asked, "You've never told me that" I shrugged.

"It wasn't important" I said.

"Why did you want to be a cop?" Flash asked. "No offence, but it doesn't seem like something you would be interested in Angel"

"I'm a mystery" I said. "Wrapped in an enigma. If you must though, it's because of when I was 8, and the drunken Duncans were driving through Littleroot, trying to get home without people noticing they were hammered. As we drove, I had no idea we were driving the wrong direction down a one-way street. Well we got to the top of the street, when the police sirens started. The Drunkens tried to run away, and ended up hitting a pole.

"The police ended up carting the two of them back to the station in handcuffs. I had to come alone also, but I didn't end up in a drunk tank. I ended up at the desk of detective...Christ, what was his name. I don't remember, but he gave me hot chocolate. It was so warm, he waited for me to finish it before he even asked me any questions. He wasn't push, he was kind to me. Unlike the Drunkens who called me by sweet, sweet curse words.

"He asked me if I was scared when them, and I said I was. I was scared, but being there made me feel safe. I knew that the Drunkens were bad people, and I knew why the police were there. To punish monsters like them. I wanted to do that, I wanted to make people safe again"

Flash and Enfer were stunned, neither of them able to say a thing. It took a moment before Flash finally asked an important question.

"Why did you end up again with the Duncans?" He asked. Oh boy, he just had to ask that, now didn't he?

"They were called into court, and I thought they would finally loose me" I said, "But the truth is that the two of them were able to play sober that day. They didn't get sent to prison, I didn't go off to a mythical, better family! Oh no, rather I was sent home with the Drunkens, who got a small fine for driving recklessly" Enfer leaned down and looked me in the eyes. "Don't say anything, please don't. It won't help" Enfer sighed, and nodded.

"I just, I will never be able to apologize for this" Enfer said, voice trembling. "F-for leaving you with those bastards"

"No you wont" I snarled, "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention it" I instantly felt a pang of regret, especially since I could see the hurt in her eyes. I opened my mouth to apologize, but it wouldn't have mattered. You can't unring a bell after all.

"We're done!" Lisa announced, waking Louis and Michael up. The two noticed how they were, and screamed. "Oh don't worry, you two will have a lovely 8x10 glossy to remember this moment, we can pick it up later. For now though, you two help me dress Pecha" Lisa had been given a bunch of little black garments, and a little black hat. What was she making?

"Is this what I think it is?" Michael asked, as he helped fit the shirt and jacket over Pecha's squirming body.

"I think it is" Louis said. He helped Pecha's fat ass into the pants, and her tail through a hole.

"What do you think it is?" Rush asked me.

"Who cares?" I mumbled. Remembering how I treated Enfer though, I plastered a fake smile on my face. "Does it matter really? What do you think Rush?" God, I felt sick asking that.

"Well I think" Rush said, using the term think rather liberally, "That it's a pink princess dress, because Pecha would look so cute in that, with a little crown"

"What would I look cute in?" Wisp asked.

"You're already cute" Rush said cheerfully. You've got to wonder what it's like to be that happy all of the time. Suddenly, Michael, Lisa, and Louis parted, giving us a view of Pecha.

"Oh my God" Me, Shu, Bane, and Enfer said in unison, the only ones who would recognize it.

Pecha was dressed in a miniature Nazi SS Officers uniform. Except, instead of eagles, their were Pikachu's on the uniform, and instead of SS were New Chu Order. It even came with a little hat, complete with ear holes.

"You know, it's fitting" Bane whispered.

"Pecha looks strapping!" Pecha said, "This will be the uniform of all of Pecha's troops for the New Chu Order" Pecha laughed and pointed at Lisa. "I may spare you human, for you have given Pecha her snazzy new uniform"

"That's right Pecha" Lisa said, "A New Chu Order outfit, just for you" Pecha's eyes went wide.

"How does she know of Pecha's secret world domination plan?!" Pecha cried. We looked at one another, before Bane decided to bite the bullet.

"Secret plan?" Bane asked.

"You may not know this" Pecha said, "But Pecha wants to one day be the ruler of the earth, in a New Chu Order!" She then did a pose from the table, leaving all of us to stare. "I know, it comes as a shock, seeing as Pecha is a master of subtlety" An atom bomb hitting a dynamite factory, and blowing up a city of five million is more subtle then Pecha.

The saddest part of this all though? Pecha wasn't joking, she was completely honest.

* * *

"So how did your day go today?" Michael asked. It was night time at last, and I was on Michael's chest on his bed.

"I did it" I said, using all of my energy to talk. "I lost a pound sweating, my eyes are blood shot, I didn't eat but somehow still threw up, yet I didn't curse for an entire day. Now you have to quit being mad at me right?" Michael grinned sheepishly, "Right?"

"You'd think so" I froze mouth agape. Then...

"FUCK YOU ASSHOLE!" I shouted, causing every one to jump. "I went an entire fucking day without cursing, I put up with fucking Rush and fucking Flash, and all you can say is sorry?!"

"I was actually going to apologize for something else" Michael said. "For trying to get you to not curse anymore. If I'm going to get over getting mad, I can't dell on those kind of things. I'm sorry I tried to make you change" Now it was my turn to apologize.

"Maybe I could tune it down a little" I said, "Less cursing. A compromise?"

"I'd like that" Michael said, "And I promise you, I'll get over being mad soon" I sighed and nodded.

Soon.


	107. Return of the Empress

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CVII: Return of the Empress**

"Sharon, earthquake!" Michael ordered.

"Fun time!" Sharon said, hitting the ground and causing it to shake. The Steelix Sharon was facing hit the ground hard, as a wave of earth tarnished his metal sides. It pulled its self out of the ground, and lunged at Sharon.

It was the day before we were supposed to leave, so of course Michael thought it was a good time to train. All of us had already been in two battles, and Sharon was on her third. She had won all of hers, I had lost the first of mine, lousy pricks.

"Steelix" The female trainer ordering the giant metal snake, "Bite the Flygon, and drag it under the ground" The Steelix tried to grab Sharon, who instead punched it in the face, knocking it down.

I was staring at the female trainer, who like most trainers in Hoenn, decided to go for some stupid theme, in her case, Swimming Steel-types. This woman was decked out in a one piece bathing suit, swim cap, and goggles, despite being on dry land. Why is it all the trainers are freaks?

"Sharon, dig and end this" Michael ordered.

"Rock throw" The trainer ordered, as Steelix tossed several large boulders at Sharon, one smashing into her head. Sharon faltered in the air, but flew on, tackling Steelix and plowing it into the ground.

"That's my mate" Titan bragged, "I'm fucking that" From Titan's head, Dex cooed softly.

"Everyone is well aware of your sex life" I growled at the annoying Aggron Titan naturally flipped me the bird, a fun expression I had taught him but could not do myself, due to my lack of fingers.

"Be grateful Angela" Rush chirped happily, nuzzling Wisp, "It's a beautiful day!" I fired a shadow ball, that Wisp deflected with a flame-thrower.

Sharon exploded from the ground, holding the Steelix by the tail. It was completely limp, and Sharon began to swing it over her head.

"Steelix learn to fly!" Sharon exclaimed, tossing the Steelix. The female trainer recalled the Steelix in mid-air. Before Michael could congratulate her, she took off without looking at us. She ran over to the edge of a cliff and leapt off, soon we could hear her swimming.

"...Kay" Michael mumbled, before walking over to Sharon. Sharon was fluttering in mid air, but one of her wings wasn't flapping as fast as the other. "Sharon, are you alright?"

"Flyg!" Sharon chirped happily. She then collapsed hard to the ground.

* * *

The second letter came two weeks later to the Hoenn Pokemon League. Once again it came in a brown envelope, once again with a fake return address. One big difference though was the hand writing on the envelope was different then the writing from the first letter.

The letter arrived in the hands of Jim Scott, a man with two first names, two divorces, and who had been doing this job for too long. He, like any sane person, opened the letter out of pure curiosity.

"Dear oppress? What is that supposed to be?" The letter was smudged, and nearly illegible. "Yo-av-nored our f-st letter. We ar-dmand-you stop the oppression. If-n-hen-Hoenn League Championship-a blood bath" After that, all of the ink was smudged out. The letter was sopping wet, indicating it was been rained on or dropped in a puddle. Jim ignored it, and tossed it in the garbage.

* * *

"Their is a piece of bone in her brain?" Michael asked. It was an hour later an we were in the pokemon center. I had just taken a ride on the psychedelic dream machine, and was all healed up. Sharon on the other hand had been given an x-ray, Michael had been worried that rock to the head might have hurt her.

"The rock that made contact with your Flygon's head caused the bone fragment to shift" The female x-ray technician said, "And it is what caused her to fall out of the sky. On the plus side, we can remove it quickly, have her in and out in three hours"

"You can cut my Flygon's head open, do brain surgery, and have her out the door in three hours?" Michael asked.

"More important then that" She said, "Let's discuss payment" As Michael, Louis and the technician haggled, I walked over to Sharon who was laying on a table. Titan was standing in front of her, stroking her scales, while Dex sat on her head.

"You'll be just fine" Titan said sweetly, "And if they hurt you, I'll gut them all, and drink their blood" So sweet. Sharon pulled Dex off and began to play with him.

"Now their is one thing I must warn you about" The technician said, "The bone fragment is partially lodged in what scientists have identified as the personality center of a pokemon's brain. Removing it could possibly alter her personality" Titan froze in mid-stroke, and turned to look at us. We all had the same thought at once.

It could bring Empress Sharon back.

* * *

"What if she no longer wants to travel with us?" Titan asked, "What if she wants to go back to her tribe?"

"What if she wakes up and realizes she's been boffing you?" I asked in mock horror. Enfer smacked me upside the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"For being a smart ass" She said. Titan had more or less ignored my comments, starring down at Dex.

"What will we do?" Titan mumbled. Sharon had been wheeled off about ten minutes ago, and now we were all waiting.

Michael was looking at his seven badges for some reason, occasionally polishing one of them. Louis was asleep with Trish on his shoulder, and Nel on his head. Nel's heart was racing so fast I could hear it from my from my place on the floor.

"They won't get me!" Nel cried, "I wont let them drag me off to their nightmare backroom! I will fight them all!"

"Shut up you harpy" Trish mumbled.

"Never fowl metal death bird!" Nel shrieked. Nel rolled up into a ball, but made sure her eyes were out so she could see everyone.

Lisa was messing with Pecha's outfit, and Pecha was trying (and failing) to zap her trainer.

"No one shall tamper with Pecha's kick-ass duds!" Pecha proclaimed. Lisa and her squirmed until they both fell out of the chair, onto Rush and Wisp.

Now, Wisp loved Lisa dearly, but had no love lost for Pecha. Suddenly, both Lisa and Pecha shot up, as a fire ball emerged from underneath them, caused by Wisp.

"Sorry about that love" Wisp said to Rush.

"Did something happen?" Rush asked. He's so sweet when he's stupid.

Flash was watching Titan, but he wasn't saying a thing. He appeared to be completely calm, which meant he was in deep, deep thought. Flash seemed to be trying to decide whether or not to go over to Titan and say something, but what he'd say I don't know.

Streak was asleep, occasionally pawing at the air and mumbling something. Bane was currently singing the entire musical score of Sunday In The Park With George, because it was the only musical I could think of, and I wanted to annoy Bane.

I decided to go talk to Michael mostly because he was annoying me just by looking at the badges I (err, we) had won for him! Why did it annoy me? No idea, but it did.

"You okay?" I asked, jumping on Michael. Michael looked down at me, and smiled softly. He placed his badges back in his pocket, and began to stroke my fur.

"I don't know" Michael said, "I mean, I know Sharon will be okay, but what if her personality changes? What if she doesn't listen to me anymore?" I laughed.

"We know how her personality will change" I said, only to cause Michel to get confused.

"We do?" He asked. I froze in mid-laugh, oh boy this would be a hard one to explain.

"Well" I began, "The Sharon you know and love is a pinhead, obsessed with shiny things, in love with Titan, the mother of Dex, and once ate a roll of toilet paper. We've seen the real Sharon though, the one whose personality wasn't being altered by the bone fragment.

"That Sharon is empress of a village of several pokemon who don't live in Hoenn. She's kind, optimistic, and possibly the most intelligent being I've ever met, more then even Flash!"

"I'm not the most intelligent being you've ever met?" Michael asked. I laughed at this comment.

"Please" I said, before leaning back into Michael's stomach. "The only thing is, Sharon was loyal to her village. We're afraid that she might go back to her village, and leave us"

"Do you think that she'd do that?" Michael asked, "That she cares that little about us?"

"I don't know" I said, "Titan though has poured so much of himself into Dex and Sharon, if they left him, he'd die. Now, Empress Sharon only spent one night with Titan, so he's rightfully worried that she wouldn't like him"

"What's Titan like" Michael asked.

"Well he's a perv" I said, "He spends most of his time slapping the Mankey, he's only ever had sex once. He propositioned me at least fifty-five times, even though him mounting me would break my spine"

"He tried to get you to have sex with him?" Michael asked, "I think I should give Titan a piece of my mind"

"Why?" I asked, "So he can flick you through a wall? He doesn't do it as much any more, he's in love" Michael nodded. He then looked down at me.

"Angela, I know I'm going to regret this" He said, "But how do you know about Empress Sharon?"

"Because we visited her village" I said.

"How come I don't remember?" Michael asked, "Or why did Louis and Lisa not tell me about it? I'd like to think my Flygon being ruler of a village would qualify as news"

"You guys were turned into statues then" I said, "You wouldn't have remembered it" Michael opened his mouth to speak, but closed it almost as quickly. Something's are better left unasked.

"Okay" Michael said, "And they willingly let Sharon leave the village? Better yet, how did you see Sharon's real personality?"

"Way, way to hard to explain" I said, "They let her leave because they were disappointed with her as a leader"

"Why did she leave in the first place?" Michael asked.

"I don't remember" I said, "She had a reason!" At least, I thought she did. I wasn't quit right my dear listener, but more on that later.

"Alright" Michael said. "Do you mind if I get a bit serious for a moment?" I shook my head no, even though I definitely meant yes. "I can't be mad any more. No more getting over it soon, it's time for me to be okay now.

"What if you had gotten hurt? I couldn't live with my self if you got hurt and I was still mad at you. With out letting you know just how much you mean to me" I smiled and licked him across the nose.

"You don't have to remind me" I said, "Don't worry, I already know. I just wanted you to know, I'm just fine. I know how you feel"

"Mr. Luccelli" A head poked out of Sharon's surgery room, "We're done operating on your Flygon. She's stabilized"

* * *

Not Meowth was floating in eternity, his mind calm. He could sense everything at once, sense where I was and that I was safe.

_DOOMSDAY IS COMING_

Not Meowth was snapped back to consciousness, no longer meditating. Even though he didn't have a heart, it was racing.

"Doomsday?" He asked himself.

Doomsday was coming. He didn't know what that was, what it meant, or when it was. But it frightened him.

* * *

Sharon was on her side, her head wrapped in bandages. Her eyes were closed, and her wings were flapping softly. One of her goggled eyes cracked open when she saw us walking in.

"Shiny!" Sharon rasped at Titan. Titan held on for one second, before breaking down and bawling like a baby. Of course.

"Get a grip man" I mumbled. Dex, being a baby, began crying right after Titan did, though he didn't know why. He just did what his father did. His father who was so happy to have the two of them, it didn't look like he'd ever stop.

"I would have thought that removing the bone fragment would have brought back the Empress" I said, "They said pulling that fragment out would bring back her old personality"

"Maybe it's best that it didn't" Enfer said, "Empress Sharon may have had trouble adjusting to life not as royalty, but as one of us" The two of us stood up and began to walk away from the group and over to Michael, who was talking to Sharon's surgeon.

"I wouldn't exactly call her royalty" I said, "At the end of the day she was queen of the worlds nicest dung heap. It was still a dung heap though"

"I dunno" Enfer said, "Those people looked up to her, respected her, treated her like something different" We sat down by Michael, "She wouldn't get that with us"

"So will I notice any immediate change in Sharon's personality?" Michael asked the surgeon. The surgeon shook her head.

"No, it turns out they were wrong about the fragment" The surgeon said, "While it had once dug into the personality center of your Flygon's brain, the wound had healed some time ago"

"How long ago?" Michael asked. The surgeon shrugged.

"A couple of months maybe" She said. "Tell me, did your Flygon eat any strange berry's a couple of months ago? Because they could have healed her" Me and Enfer looked at each other, eyes wide.

"A couple of months ago" I said, "They fed her that berry in the village"

"So if their was any personality change, you would have noticed it already" The surgeon said, "The fragment did shift again, hitting her in the balance center of her brain, but she should be fine in a couple of weeks" With that, Michael went off to Sharon, leaving a stunned me and Enfer.

"Sharon has been lying" Enfer said, "The enigma berry didn't wear off, she faked it. She never quit being Empress Sharon"

"Why would she fake it?" I asked, confusion seeping into my voice. The two of us turned to the secret Empress, not a word said between us.


	108. Paradise

**AN: **This is my personal least favorite chapter.

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CVIII: Paradise**

I wouldn't think Sharon pissed off would be very scary, but I was as it turns out, absolutely wrong. Sharon pissed off is a scary, scary thing. At least Empress Sharon pissed off is.

"Believe me" Sharon said, "I don't want to harm you, I just want to talk" It's hard to believe someone when they've got you strung up and hanging above the ocean.

Enfer had to resist biting through the net, lest she fall to her death. I was keeping myself focused on Sharon, not on the...thing beneath me. I wanted to talk to Sharon, to get me and Enfer back on the boat, and to get Sharon's mind at peace.

Confused my dear listener? Let me start at the beginning...

* * *

Mossdeep was not a fun place for me, an island surrounded by ocean. We hadn't gotten a chance to visit the space shuttle launch station (due to the Mossdeep Game Corner being next door, and Lisa getting moist at the thought of it). While it was a beautiful island, I wasn't eager to return, in fact the thought of returning made me want to vomit.

Michael had managed to book three rooms on a ship out of Mossdeep, one that I'm happy to say, Robin was not on. This was not the ship that changed everything for me, it did for Bane. More on that later though.

"You're not happy" Rush said to me, "You need to smile more Angela! We're getting to ride on a boat! Fun time!" I looked at him and growled. "...Did I say something wrong?"

"How long have you known me Rush?" I asked, "More specifically, how long have you known my feelings on the ocean?"

"You have feelings on the ocean?" Rush chirped. I sighed, and smiled weakly at Rush. He may be as dumb as a sack of hammers, but he was the sweetest creature on earth. At least, I looked over at Sharon, he was now.

Enfer and I had yet to confront Sharon, we would soon. She had been lying to us, lying for almost two months. We also had yet to tell anyone in the group, for fear they wouldn't believe us, or would get mad at us, or who knows what. Best to talk to Sharon first, then decide the best course of action.

The morning we walked onto the boat was (surprisingly enough) humid. So humid that the air was heavy enough to knock flying-types out of the sky like feathery lead weights. The best part though was their wasn't a cloud in the sky, the sun was bright, and it wasn't going to stop any time soon.

Ugh.

Michael was smiling, his hand in his pocket, fingering his badges. I could tell he was excited that this would be it, the last gym battle. Soon it would all be done.

Louis was leaning on L3 who was holding him up. Louis was panting, tongue all the way out. L3 didn't seem to notice she was holding her trainer. Nel was standing on his head, staring at L3.

"Does it bother you having to hold him like that?" Nel asked. L3 shrugged.

"...Dunno..." What a talker L3 was.

Lisa had Wisp on her shoulder, and she seemed to be the only person who wasn't over heating. Pecha was in her bag, because as she said, future world dictators don't walk, they're carried. Shu was beside her, he was depressed because on the news they were talking about Orre, and it was less then good.

Enfer was behind me, and the heat radiating off of her made it nearly unbearable to be around her. She barely noticed me, both she and I were looking over at Titan, Dex, and the Empress.

"My shiny" Sharon's arms were wrapped around Titan's neck, and she was gently nibbling on his shiny head, while Dex covered the two of them in webbing. Sharon and Titan laughed, and Sharon went back to gnawing.

"That's crap" I mumbled. The only sign of surgery Sharon had were the bandages wrapped around her head, which they said could be removed in a week. Isn't it amazing how major brain surgery can be done in a few hours, requires no time spent resting, and will leave no major scarring?

"Okay, we're located in room 456-458" Michael said, "And I think we should head there now, I feel like I'm going to throw up"

"You're not that bad off" Lisa said. Michael threw up all over her shirt, before collapsing on the bed. "Okay, maybe you are" Louis looked down at Michael, and gestured at L3. L3 slung Louis into a wall, swung Michael over her shoulder, and began to march to the appropriate room.

"I feel I'm going to die" Michael mumbled, "Can you guys keep it down?" We were in our room, the sound of the ocean the only sound to comfort us. The six of us and Michael were in this room, while Louis, Lisa, and their pokemon had split off to their own rooms.

I jumped off of Michael's chest (earning a groan from him), and walked over to Bane, who was against the bed. He was humming some annoying tune.

"Michael feels sick" I said, "I blame the ocean. Sing and make him feel batter" Bane looked up at me like I was nuts. "What?"

"Michael can't understand me" Bane said, "Wouldn't he hear me just saying my species name over and over again? How is that less annoying then the ocean"

"Just do it" I said, "I'll even let you decide what you sing" Suddenly Bane's eyes lit up, and he began to smile.

"I know" Bane said, "I'll sing the score to my favorite musical ever"

"I dunno" I said, "Your taste is a little...lame. Alright, tell me what your musical is about"

"It's a two hour meditation on nothing" Bane said, "It's about a man who is married to women he doesn't love, who is son does love. The man is in love with an actress, whose mother was a courtesan" I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"What's the name of this bizarre master piece?" I asked.

"A Little Night Music" Bane said, "Isn't that a great name?" I shrugged. "You don't want me to sing any more, do you?"

"It would be best if you didn't" I said. I moved on from Bane, walking past Rush who was pining for Wisp, to Sharon. Sharon was playing with Titan and Dex, largely ignoring me.

"Sharon, could you I talk to you?" I asked. "Alone?"

"You want to talk to Sharon!?" Titan asked, "And you want to find alone, in this room? Their is no alone in this room"

"I'll find some" I said, "Sharon, come with me" Sharon shrugged, and flapped along side me happily. We made it to the other side of the room, as far away from Titan as possible, where Flash was asleep. As soon as we stopped, Sharon tried to lick my head. "Sharon, stop or I will shadow ball you in the brain"

Now, Enfer and I were originally going to wait before confronting Sharon, but I couldn't wait. I needed to know, I desperately needed to know why Sharon was lying to all of us. Enfer and Michael have both told me that my curiosity get me killed, it hasn't yet.

"Why are you lying to us?" I asked. Sharon laughed goofily.

"Angela mad at Sharon?" She asked innocently. I sighed, this was going to be difficult, wasn't it?

"Sharon, I know you're full of shit" I said, trying to control my voice. "I know the truth, you're still the Empress"

"Empress of ice cream!?" Sharon proclaimed. God give me strength. Trying to talk to Sharon literally will drain you of all your energy, it's almost as bad as watching the Supergirl movie.

"Empress of the village whose name escapes me" I said. "You never reverted to your old self, me and Enfer heard the doctor mention it!" Great, implicate Enfer in this to why don't you. "You're head wound was fixed months ago"

"...Sharon is confused!" Sharon proclaimed, looking over her shoulder, trying to get Titan's attention.

"I just want to know why you lied" I said, "Was it a sinister reason? Did you just want to get away? I'm amazed I didn't see it sooner, I mean you hadn't called yourself Super-Gyarados since the trip to the village.

"Sharon's not happy" Sharon said, her eyes beginning to water, "T-Titan"

"Why did you lie?" The room began to shake, as Titan clopped his way over to the two of us. "I'm not asking for much information, just why did you" Titan lifted me off of the ground by my tail, making it feel like my ass was going to get ripped off.

"What's going on?" Titan asked. Sharon's lip began to tremble, then she burst out crying. Dex, who was on Titan's head, got scared and also burst out crying. Flash slept through it all of course.

"Maybe you should just drop me on Michael's" Titan threw me gently into the wall, still hard enough to lightly dent it and cause me to bounce onto the bed.

"I wanted quiet" Michael mumbled from under a pillow, "And you interpret that to mean that Sharon and Titan need to be screaming"

"I'm special that way" I mumbled, "I think I'm going to take a nap also, the sea makes me want to hurl. Just need an hour, yawn, to rest"

* * *

I ended up sleeping a lot longer then an hour. I ended up sleeping six, eight, maybe twelve hours. I really don't know. I just remember being woken up by the night music of waves crashing against the side of the ship.

That, and that I couldn't feel anything beneath me. That caused my eyes to snap open, and to see Sharon's goggled eyes in front of mine. "What's going on?"

"I removed the life boats from their riggings" Sharon said, "And I've got both of you in nets made of Spinarack webbing. I'm ticked at the two of you, and we need to talk"

"Both of us?" I turned, to see Enfer beside me, still asleep. She was in an extremely thick web net, on her stomach with her head over the end of the net. The web net was attached to the riggings of what had once held a life boat, dangling her over the side of the ship. "Of course" I was also webbed up in a net, not nearly as thick as the one Enfer was in, I guess because I couldn't burn through mine.

The two of us were strung up like this, I assume so we couldn't escape, lest we fall into the ocean. Sharon could catch us, but it was best just to not fall in at all.

Enfer decided at that moment to wake up. She yawned groggily, looked at what was confining her, and sighed.

"You know, the fact that I've gotten used to this is scary on multiple levels" Enfer said sadly.

I think this is where we were, so I'll start again.

"I'm upset" Sharon said, "Not that you figured it out. No, despite what the others believe, you are very intelligent Angela, as are you Enfer. I just didn't need you telling people about it"

"Why not Sharon?" Enfer asked. Sharon sighed, and leaned on the railing of the boat. I could hear people, but the side of the ship we were on wasn't near the free booze, thus wasn't near any of the people.

"I hated my village" Sharon said. Slowly, tears began to fill up her goggles around her eyes. "I hated every thing about my village. I hated how petty all the pokemon were, I hated Mr. Androgynous Asshole, but I especially hated how I had turned the village into paradise, but I was only an observer of it. I was the empress of a kingdom that I despised"

"You didn't leave for a year to explore the world, did you Sharon?" I asked. "You were never going to come back, were you" Sharon shook her head slowly.

"No, I had no intention of coming back" Sharon said. "I wanted to be happy, and I knew that it would never happen if I stayed in my village. I needed happiness, is that wrong of me?"

"Of course not Sharon" Enfer said, "You deserved it, just as much as anyone else did"

"Why did we have to have this conversation while in web nets, dangling over the side of a ship? Also, how did you get the two of us rigged in these things, without waking us, and without anyone noticing you had taken us?" I asked. My questions were, of course, ignored. "Stupid plot holes"

"What I don't get is that I felt guilty" Sharon said, "I felt like I was betraying my village by living my own life, which I know is crazy, but I still felt guilty. I shouldn't, I didn't want to lead their universe, I had no choice. I was born into a life of leadership, and under my leadership, all of the tribes were united! It was a new time of peace, prosperity, a new paradise. I lead it, and I threw away my leadership like a rind from a fruit"

"I think you just answered your own question" Enfer said. "You feel guilty because you're afraid that the village would fall apart without you" Sharon nodded slowly. "But you shouldn't, because you didn't like any of the pokemon in the village"

"I wouldn't say I disliked them all" Sharon said, "Just that I despised being their leader. Do you know what it's like to lead a large group of pokemon?"

"Still don't know why we couldn't have this conversation else where" I said. "You know, not in a web net? Hello? Anyone?" No response, of course not.

"No I don't have any idea" Enfer said, "The only other living creature I've ever lead is Louis, and that was to the bathroom" Sharon laughed slowly, as I tried to push myself onto all fours, and crawl out of the net.

"I felt like Atlas" Sharon said, "The entire world on my brown shoulders. Ironic because as a Trapinch, I didn't really have shoulders. I just, I couldn't deal with their constant problems. I couldn't deal with which side of a line a berry bush was growing on. I didn't care anymore, I did at first, but I got burned out on these petty problems. You see" Sharon moaned, "I was only a year old when I began to lead our village"

"How old are you?" I asked. Sharon laughed quickly.

"Irrelevant" Sharon said, "The point is I'd lead them for years. I was told from the day I was born to be mature, to be an adult, to act like an Empress should act. I had not once, not once in my life gotten a chance to enjoy things. I had never gained a level, been given a chance to evolve. I had never felt love" Sharon began to sniffle again.

"And your first experience of love was Titan?" I asked, disbelief in my voice. Sharon began to smile softly.

"He was kind to me, even when I gnawed on his tin skull. Once he rubbed his head in berry juice, and then let me gnaw on it" Sharon said. "So sweet of him. The thing is, he loves the sweet, innocent me. I also love the sweet innocent me, I don't want to be Empress Sharon any more"

"Can you do that?" Enfer said.

"I've been lying for over two months now" Sharon said, "I can do anything. I am Empress Sharon!"

"Can you get me down?" I asked.

"You can't lie to someone you claim to love" Enfer said, "How would you feel if Titan were lying to you about something like that?" Sharon shrugged.

"Titan likes Bizzarro Sharon, I like her more then I do me!" Sharon said. "Life is simpler when you're a moron"

"I've found that to be true" I said, before pausing. "Wait...Okay, enough of this bullshit. Sharon, you and Titan are both a pair of brain dead twats. Listen carefully, Titan is scared you wont like him if you're empress Sharon. You're afraid that he wont like the real you, which he already admitted that he did. You two are both morons, and you need to talk with each other" Sharon sat up slowly.

"You know, you're right Angela" Sharon said, "It's time I talked to him. In fact, I'll go do that right now"

"That's great Sharon" I said, "Now if you could just" She flew back to the door to our room, pushed it open, flew inside, and shut it again. "Uh, Sharon?"

"I'll get you later" She called through the door. I sighed, and looked up at the stars.

"I asked Sharon to put us in these Angela" Enfer said. I jumped up, and twisted my head as far as it would go. "I did it because I didn't want you to escape. Angela, I wasn't happy when you snapped at me, so I've decided to punish you. The same way my mother punished me. I needed you tied up, or else you would run and jump through shadows again"

"What are you going to do?" I asked in a sarcastic tone, "Make me watch Supergirl again?" Enfer paused.

"Angela, what do you know about your heat cycles?" I looked up at the webbing, and wondered if drowning might not be so bad.


	109. Who Is Chris?

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help**

**CIX: Who Is Chris?**

The night music that night was an absolutely sickening quartet of the ocean waves, the people on the other side of the boat, the wind rocking my web hammock, and Enfer talking to me about sex.

"I think that's everything you need to know about heat cycles" Enfer said, "Do you have any questions?" I threw up into the ocean. "I'll take that as a no"

"You do that" I mumbled. Enfer had told me things that I didn't even know were possible, things that had I heard them from anyone else, I would have thought was kinky.

From Enfer though, it was depraved, disgusting, and fucking creepy.

"We've got plenty of time out here" Enfer said, "Is their anything you want to talk about?" I shrugged, looking at the stars.

"Who is Chris?" I asked. Enfer made a little noise, before laughing extremely nervously. She coughed twice, before speaking again.

"Uh, what?"

"Who is Chris?" I asked, "Is it a he, a she? A who?" Enfer began to look increasingly uncomfortable. Knowing what I know today, I don't know if I would have continued to pester her, but I did.

"How?" Enfer asked as her voice cracked, "H-how did you find out that name? I-I can't talk about that name"

"Who is Chris?" I asked. "I only know because I heard you talking about him or her in your sleep. Who is Chris?" Enfer began to visibly break down. "Oh shit, Enfer?"

"Chris never was" Enfer whispered. "And I have, have to go. Sharon!" Enfer tried jumping out of the web net, but ended up getting even more tangled in the web net. "S-Sharon! SHARON!" The door to my room open, and Sharon poked her head out.

"What?" She asked crossly, "If you don't mind I" Enfer began to sob openly. "Oh! I had no idea, I'll take you both in right now" Before I could protest, Sharon had grabbed my web net, and dragged me back in the room.

* * *

"I mean it's so out of character for her!" I ranted, "I mean, the two of us are close, closer then I've even been with you"

"Why thank you Angel" Michael said flatly, "Explain to me why Enfer is so important to you?" I opened my mouth, but froze before I could get a word out, Enfer's plea echoing in my head. So I responded with the smartest answer I could think of.

"I can not answer that question, because I can't" I said. Okay, I wasn't quick on my four feet, but I was honest. "She just was there for me when I first became an Eevee"

"That makes sense" Michael said, "So you mentioned this Chris person to her, and Enfer automatically clamed up.

"She seemed ashamed" I said, "Humiliated, or maybe just sad. I mean, she looks sad right now!" Enfer was in our tiny room, staring at a wall. Her face was blank, except for her eyes. They looked emptier somehow, and don't ask me how. Their was something, a spark missing from them though.

"Go over and talk to her" Michael said, "See if you can help with whatever the painful memory is"

"I guess I'll try" I mumbled, looking around at our room filled with pokemon. Nel and Pecha were asleep at the foot of our bed, while L3 stood over us like some big, hairy golem.

"Why did they all have to be in here?" I asked. From Louis and Lisa's room, the bed began banging against the wall.

"Oh fuck-oh fuck-oh fuck"

"Yesyesyesyesyesyes!"

"S-shove your flashlight, up my ass!"

"You really don't know?" Michael asked. He sighed, and stuck his head under the pillow. "Get going Angela"

"Alright" I mumbled, pulling myself off of the bed. I navigated around the sleeping pokemon in the room, though I may have stomped on a few (Rush, Pecha).

Intense heat was radiating off of Enfer, more intense then usual, a sign of her being stressed. She didn't even acknowledge me when I walked up.

"Mind if I sit down?" I asked. Enfer shrugged, not even bothering to look back at me. I laid down beside her, but jumped back up, the floor incredibly hot. "Heh-I'll just stand if that's okay with you?"

"I guess" Enfer said sadly. "I think I'm going to go" Enfer stood up, and I knew it was time to act. She helped me when I was miserable, so it was time for me to help her.

I leapt onto Enfers back, and dug my four claws in. Enfer automatically started to try to shake me off, but I bit into the fur on her back.

"Angela, get off" Enfer growled.

"No" I said through a mouth full of fur. Enfer shook me so fast, my claws popped out, but my jaw remained clamped in. Enfer began to jump up and down, smacking my stomach into her back, but no dice, I held on. Enfer sighed, stopped jumping, and tried a different tactic.

She started getting hotter. Not a little hotter, but hot enough to set my fur on fire I thought. I jumped back up to all fours, still biting on. I started jumping little jumps, trying not to touch her hot back. Enfer still continued to get hotter. My tongue began to burn, and my will began to melt, I needed to let go of the fur. But because I loved her as much as I loved Michael, I did not.

"Damn it" Enfer finally began to decrease the heat, and allowed me to climb off. "What do you want Angela?" She asked nastily.

"Who is Chris?" I asked. "As soon as I brought up the name, you got quiet. You were miserable. Enfer sighed, and then began to cry slowly.

"Chris is the worst thing that ever happened to me" Enfer rasped. "Chris was wonderful, but she was taken from me. She was taken" Enfer paused, "Before she was ever given to me. Chris would have been Christina, your older sister" Enfer began to break down, "And I loved her so much"

* * *

In other households, a pregnant woman isn't expected to work. They're expected to rest, to take it easy, to lay down. In most households, the other members of the family will jump through hoops for the pregnant woman.

This though was the Kendle household, and Anna Kendle had vacuuming to do. Then she had mopping, waxing, laundry, dusting, grocery shopping, and other tasks. Marcus demanded a clean house, and Anna was more then happy to oblige

Marcus was upset with Anna when he found out she was pregnant. Anna was almost instantly sorry, more so when she caused Marcus to beat her. She had deserved it though, she should have told him sooner. Anna hadn't told him about the affair, she was scared what would happen then.

"Marcus is a good man at his core" Anna mumbled to herself, "He deserves fidelity, he really does. It was just a mistake, it won't happen again. I won't let it happen again"

_What will he do if her finds out the baby isn't his? He never wanted the child to begin with. He would harm you and the child._

"M-Marcus wouldn't do t-that" Anna stammered, "He's a good and kind man"

_He's a bastard. An asshole with no future, a man who doesn't need a wife, he needs a punching bag. Run. Run as fast and as hard as you possibly can, just for your child._ Anna's hand slowly gravitated to her belly, to the life growing inside of her.

"I need a husband" Anna stated to herself, "And Marcus will protect both me an-and my child. H-he's not p-p-perfect, but then again w-who is? He's better then-then no one"

"Babe, who are you talking to?" Marcus called from his study. Anna froze in place, took a moment, and turned off the vacuum before answering.

"N-no one Marc" Anna called.

"Then shut your stupid mouth, you have chores, fucking crazy bitch" Anna gulped, and quickly got back to work. She was cleaning the living room now, and would soon begin to vacuum their bedroom. Before she moved on though, she paused at a shelf that held little ceramic figurines.

They were all of pokemon, frozen in life like poses. Anna picked up a Shinx figure, and stroked it with one finger. She had been collecting them since she was a little girl, and they had made her happy for years. They each reminded her of happier times, and just touching them calmed her.

"I need a Growlithe" Anna mumbled, placing the figure down again, "A perky little one to complete the collection"

"I don't hear vacuuming" Marcus called out, but as a warning. He didn't hear vacuuming, so she needed to get going again, or else he would be forced to discipline her.

Since getting pregnant, Anna had been on her best behavior, and had been punished much less then usual as a result. Sure she had screwed up a few times, and Marcus had been forced to put his cigar out on her leg once, but she had been doing much better.

Today, that would all change

Anna moved on to the bed room, and continued to vacuums, not hearing Marcus walk up behind her. She turned around, and bumped into him, leering at her.

"Why aren't you done yet?" He asked, "You have more chores to do, you need to get done faster"

"I-I'm sorry Marcus" Anna stammered, "I'm going as fast as I can, and this is the last room, and I'm in heels"

"Stop talking!" Marcus snarled. "I need to lay down, your vacuuming has given me a headache. Go fix me a highball"

"Y-yes sir" Anna said, "But I still have to vacuums, so won't that actually worsen your" Marcus raised his hand to slap her, and Anna scurried off to the kitchen, when the booze was kept.

Anna had the drink ready in a minute, slower then Marcus wanted, and for that she was sorry. As soon as it was done, Anna scurried back to the bed room, as fast as her heels would let her.

Marcus had his head under a pillow, and was still enough that you would have thought he was unconscious. Anna made her way over to him, barely noticing the vacuums cord. She did notice though when it pulled tight, and when she found herself falling.

She couldn't react, or scream, or brace for impact. She could only watch as the base board of the bed made contact with her head.

"You better not have spilled my drink bitch" Marcus mumbled from under the pillow. The glass had shattered, and Anna was on her back. With a groan, she pushed herself onto all fours, only then noticing the blood flowing from her head, and from between her legs.

"Marcus" Anna rasped, as she cut her hand on the glass. Marcus didn't even stir slightly. "Marcus!" Anna screamed.

"What bitch?" He pulled the pillow off and looked down at Anna.

"H-help me" She pleaded, before passing out.

* * *

"I can't tell you what happened next" Enfer said, "It's, it's to painful" She was about to break down, so I spoke up.

"What can you tell me then?" She sighed.

"One last thing"

* * *

Anna had wanted to be a mother since she got married. As anti-feminist as that thinking is, Anna still wanted it. She wanted someone who would love her unconditionally, even if Marcus would not.

Anna would have had a daughter named Christina. Christina was her mothers name, Christina Angela Freeman. Anna had loved her mother, and had considered this a great way to honor her.

She couldn't cry, why couldn't she cry? Why was she so empty. Where was her baby? Where was Christina?

"I want my Christina" Anna began to cry, "I need my baby! Please give me my baby!" Now the tears came rapidly down her face, "Give me Christina! Fuck! Oh God please kill me"

"Shut up" Marcus snarled, "I will not have tears over a child I never wanted. The baby died because of you being clumsy. This is your fault, you deal with it" They were in the hospital a few hours after the fall. Anna had arrived to find out she would have had a girl. Would have had, instead she had an ecstatic husband.

Something extraordinary happened in that moment. Anna realized she didn't care, she didn't care what Marcus said. For once this was her fault, genuinely her fault. She could have left the bastard, she could have done anything. No, she had stayed behind. Why the hell did she do that? Didn't she used to be strong? Why did she let men like Marcus and Jerry control her life?

"It just can't get any worse" Anna mumbled. "I can't believe that it could get any worse"

* * *

"I was right" Enfer said to me in an emotionless voice. "It was the absolute worst moment of my life. Nothing before, not all the beatings, not humiliation, nothing matched this. No moment after was as horrible, not even dying my first time. That was the worst moment" She looked at me, eyes shrink-wrapped in tears. "But you know what the sadly best part is? The one good thing was?" Her head tilted down as she pinched her eyes shut, but tears still seeped through. "Once you've hit rock-bottom, you can only go up" Enfer began to cry, and after a moment, I cried also.

We cried with no one coming over to us, most others scared to. We cried for what we lost, for what we never had, but it didn't matter. We had each other.

As I later found out, Enfer had lied to me about Chris, about many things about her. More on that later though.


	110. Bane The Happy I

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CX: Bane the Happy I**

**A While Ago**

"Why do all the pokemon here hate humans?" Bane asked. It was mid-afternoon, and the sun had bathed the village in golden sunlight. Aura was walking with him, the same Aura who had tried to dry hump Bane the first time she had seen him. Bane was hoping Shade would show up, he'd run into her only a few times but she...interested him. Their was something about the Sneasle, and if he had to wait all night, all the better. Plus their was something he had to talk to someone about, something that had been weighing on his mind lately.

"I dunno" Aura said, "All the outside pokemon who come here come from abusive trainers, we know why they hate them" Bane had wanted to go into the woods alone, so of course Aura had invited herself along. She picked up a flower, and put it in the fur on top of her head. "Do you think I look cute like this?"

"I guess, I dunno" Bane said, not paying a lick of attention. Aura paused as Bane walked by, not noticing her flower. Growling, she ran and did a jump kick, plowing into Bane's back. She then plowed Bane into the ground, and skidded two feet, riding him like a surfboard.

"What was that for?" Aura grabbed him by the tuff of fur on his head, and pulled him around.

"Stare at my flower!" She shrieked.

"Maybe he'd stare at your flower if you weren't driving him into the ground you harpy" They both looked up to see Shade standing on a tree, smiling down at them. Aura began to growl at the sight of the Sneasle.

"Who are you?" Aura snapped, "And why do you want my Bane-muffin here?" Bane looked at Aura, "What?"

"Oh nothing" Bane said. He grabbed Aura by her arms, and flipped her off. "Nothing at all" Bane pushed himself up, and shook off the dirt. "Hey Shade" Shade smiled and leapt to the ground, doing a triple flip in the air. Why did she do it? Because she looked bad ass.

"What are you doing here Bane?" Shade asked, "Most of the villagers aren't happy to see a dark-type"

"That's because" Aura pushed herself up, "Dark-types are lousy pokemon"

"Aura!"

"Let her rant" Shade said with a smirk, "I've always liked how most pokemon are afraid of my kind, it amuses me" She leapt off of the tree, landing in front of Bane and Aura. "As the great Mightyena philosopher Wolfrin said, prejudice knows no boundaries, nor species, nor type"

"And as my parents say" Aura said, "Dark types should be roasted on an open flame! Come near my Bane muffin and I'll kick your ass"

"Bitch I'll scratch your eyes out" Shade said, trying hard not to laugh. She couldn't hold it in, and ended up bursting out laughing. "Sorry, I can't take you seriously" Aura tried to punch Shade, but Shade held a claw on Aura's forehead, holding her in place. "You know, I listened to your conversation" Shade said, "And I want to voice my opinion, on why the village supposedly hates humans"

"Okay, I'd like to hear it" Bane said.

"I wouldn't" Aura growled, trying to kick Shade.

"Their not scared of humans, nor do they hate them" Shade said, "Human's are just an excuse. They hate outsiders" She flicked Aura, who fell on her ass.

"Why do you say that?" Bane asked.

"The only pokemon from the outside allowed in are abused ones" Shade said, "Why? Because most abused pokemon are meek, timid, and will go along with whatever they're told. The village is paranoid about dark-types, strong personalities, and the outside world" Bane nodded. He paused.

"How do you think they'd react if a pokemon turned out to be a reborn human?" Bane asked. Behind them, thunder crackled, but they didn't notice.

* * *

**The Present**

God I hated the ocean. Their are no words to describe just how much I hated the ocean. The sea breeze, the salty air, the waves crashing against the side of the boat, it made me sick.

I was leaning against Michaels leg, while he leaned against the railing on the edge of the boat. I couldn't look directly down at...it.

Every one was out of their balls, Titan and Sharon were beside us. Sharon had her body wrapped around Titan. Dex was one her head, and he seemed happy. They were all happy just to be around each other, I envied that.

Flash was behind us, along with Trish, the two of them discussing stuff only the most anal people would notice.

Wisp and Rush were between Lisa's legs, and they also seemed happy. Pecha stood behind them atop her noble steed, Nel who looked like death warmed over. Did Pecha notice? Did she want to rule earth?

Louis and Lisa were beside us, also staring at the ocean. Rush and Wisp were inside of Lisa's legs along with Streak and Shu. L3 stood beside them like some creepy as golem.

Enfer was also behind us, absolutely silent. She hadn't said a thing to me in over twenty-four house, hell she hadn't even looked at me. She was in pain, and even though I knew why, I couldn't talk to her.

"Only a few more days" Michael said, "Then we'll finally be at Sootopolis. Then we'll have eight badges and..." He sighed, "And I dunno what then. I mean, I know I'm going to Ever Grande, but what then! What if I loose? Do you think I'm gonna loose guys?"

"Where you talking?" Louis asked. Always a good source of comfort when you're feeling unsure Louis. Michael sighed, and continued to mope while looking at the ocean. Of course, today he wasn't the only one moping.

"Do you know what day today is?" I turned, to see Bane beside me.

"Where did you come from?" I asked.

"It's the one year anniversary Angela" Bane said to me, "It's been exactly one year since I left my village"

"Jeez, I'm sorry Bane" I said sincerely. He sighed, and nodded slowly. Bane sat down on the edge of the ship, dangling his legs over.

"I can't go back yet Angela" Bane said, "Do you know why?"

"Actually, I don't c"

"Because I'm not strong enough" He interrupted. "I swore I wouldn't return until I was strong enough to deal with them. Oh don't get me wrong, I'm physically strong enough, but not mental"

"Oh believe me you're very mental" I said, "Why is it whenever I'm sitting in silence, people walk over and start monologuing to me?"

"I need to evolve" Bane said. "It's about time that I did so! I mean, I'm the last one in our group who hasn't"

"Rush, Wisp, Pecha all the way" I said.

"I'm the only one who hasn't evolved and wants to" Bane snapped. His blue fur had bristled, and I could hear his tiny heart hammering away.

"You wanna evolve?" I asked, "While I agree Lucario rule, and Riolu suck fat balls, I must ask why"

"Well I've actually been considering it for awhile now" Bane said, "And frankly, I just want to be a Lucario. I mean, I want to know what it's like to evolve! What is it like Angela?" I shrugged.

"It-it can't really be described" I said, trying to cover up for the fact that I didn't remember, or care. "It just suddenly happens and it's...consuming"

"Consuming?" Bane asked. "You know what, never mind. Was it odd for you being an Umbreon?" I shrugged.

"I dunno, it was I guess. I mean, I had to suddenly get used to being a lot bigger" I said, "My size tripled"

"You were the size of a bag of flower" Bane said.

"It still tripled!" I protested, "Plus I suddenly had to get used to being weaker in sunlight. Not really weaker, but I had less energy. Ironically I still sleep at night, which is usually when I feel the most awake. I don't know what it would be like for you"

"Lucario feel more" Bane said, "And I mean a lot more, they can feel aura with those big metal dreadlocks. They also have spikes coming out of the top of their paws, what are they for?"

"I guess since they have metal skin, scratching their face?" I ventured. "So they look bad ass maybe?"

"The only problem is I need to evolve" Bane said, "I need to be happy, really happy in the day. Of course by that logic, I should have evolved twice by now, I'm always happy! What do you think I should do?"

**A While Ago**

"Not well" Shade said, "I think they'd not believe it, I think they'd freak out, heck I think I'd freak out a little. Why?"

"What if a human lived in the village, one who was now a pokemon" Bane said, "What if someone else knew it?"

"Do you know something?" Aura asked. Her eyes were bulging through her sockets, about to pop out.

"No, I know nothing!" Bane said, "...Well maybe not nothing. I know of a lie someone has been telling. I also know it eats them up, since they care deeply about this village, and know that everyone here loves them more then their own family did"

"Who is this?" Aura asked.

"You can't be that dumb" Shade said. She turned to Bane, face full of concern. "What made you think about this?"

"I've been thinking about it for...awhile" Bane said, "The thing is, it hurts to lie to pokemon you care about. You know what I mean?"

"I think I do" Shade said. "I wouldn't recommend telling who is the liar"

"Who is it?" Aura asked.

"But it's your choice" Bane nodded. He gulped nervously.

"Would you come down with me?" He asked, "I mean it would be comforting if you were there" Shade sighed, and nodded. "Thanks, lets head down now" Above them, clouds had gathered, signaling an approaching storm. "I think they know me well enough that if I talk to them, it'll go well, don't you?"

* * *

"I think the best thing to do is to win a battle" I said, "I mean, I know it isn't much, but it always makes me feel happy"

"Wha? A battle?" Bane shrugged, "Dancing always made me happy, or at least it used to"

"Well battling can be the new thing to make you happy" I said. "Now, we just need to find a battle" I turned and bit Michael's ankle.

"Yow!" Michael looked down at me. "What was that for?"

"Bane wants to battle" I said, "Find us a battle"

"We're on a boat!" Michael said, "Where should I go to find one?"

"Anywhere on the damn ship" I stated. "It's a ship that gives discounts to trainers"

"It gives discounts to trainers?" Michael asked. Never the less, Michael gave in, and lead me and Bane away from Louis, Lisa, and everyone else who didn't notice. We made our way through the crowd of trainers to the front of the ship, where a very loud battle was going on.

"Everyone step up to face Madame Awesome, and her even more awesome Medicham" A woman standing in a circle of people said. "Leave here with the honor of having beaten the Madame" The Madame was...dear God her lips. I don't remember anything about this woman but her lips. They were pushed out like those of a fish, they were thick as a kielbasa, consumed over half of her face, and she had painted on this ugly mustard yellow lip stick with sparkly stuff in it.

"I'll challenge you" Michael said, pushing his way through the crowd. The Madame turned to face us, and laughed a throaty laugh.

"Bah, I except your challenge" She said. "I assume you want your Umbreon to fight my mighty Medicham?"

"No" Michael said, Bane moving foreword. "My Riolu" Madame laughed again, even louder and more annoying.

"I will except your pitiful challenge" Her lips said, "And you will know the wrath of Madame Awesome" Okay, confession time my dear listener. She wasn't called Madame Awesome, but she did call herself something amazingly pompous. I don't remember what it was, and Madame Awesome is just simpler.

Michael and Madame faced each other, with Bane focusing on Medicham. Medicham laughed at Bane.

"You pitiful fighting-type" Medicham said, "I am a genius, a wonderful breed of psychic-type and fighting-type genes. I am a work of art, one beyond your comprehension. Can you even hope to comprehend the perfection that stands before you? Of course not, you see" Bane force palmed the bitch, finally shutting it up.

"Good, now screech" Michael commanded. Bane opened his mouth and released an ear splitting scream, weakling both Medicham's defense and my own. Bane then rushed and did a brick break on Medicham's gut.

"Confusion" Madame ordered. Medicham fired a tripe series of waves at Bane, who danced out of the way of it, and headbutted Medicham. Medicham also tried to dance away, but Bane still made contact, with the growth on its head.

"Force palm then focus punch" Michael ordered. I know he was hoping to paralyze the Medicham, and usually it works. This time it didn't though.

As Bane's palm glowed white, Medicham hit him in the gut with a thunder punch, electrifying the Riolu. Bane flew straight up into the air, and came back down hard, slamming against the hard wood on his back. As it jumped down, trying to focus punch Bane, Bane hopped up and out of the way. Medicham ended up hurting its hand pretty bad against the wood.

"Drain punch" Michael ordered. Bane punched Medicham in the back, knocking it all the way to the ground. Bane's fist then began to glow swirly-green, sucking energy from Medicham. Medicham fired another tripe psychic blast, sending Bane sliding across the hard wood like a shuffle board disc. He finally stopped when he hit one of the trainers watching us.

"High jump kick" Madame ordered.

"Duck, then shadow claw" Michael commanded. Medicham leapt above Bane, who swooped up, black energy surging from his paws. He slammed his claws into Medicham, and brought it down hard.

"Damn it, fight harder Medicham" His trainer shouted. Okay, admittedly Medicham was an asshole, but with a trainer like this, could you blame him? Bane tossed Medicham into the air, and he began to fire confusion blasts at Bane.

"Don't let him hit the ground Bane" Michael ordered, "Focus blast" Bane fired a ball of fighting type energy, that propelled Medicham up higher, and caused it to land outside of the circle. We all moved to see Medicham out could, bruises on its head.

"You won!" I exclaimed, running over to Bane. "Do you feel happy" He looked over at me.

"Well actually"

"I can't loose!" Madame shrieked suddenly. We all watched, unable to do anything, as she ran and kicked Bane. Bane was knocked up and sent flying, past the crowd, and over the side of the ship.


	111. Bane The Happy II

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXI: Bane the Happy II**

Bane should have thought about his friends. He should have thought about his human parents and Lucario mother. His life should have flashed in front of his eyes, but none of those thing happened.

"I don't know why" Bane mumbled to himself. He was surprisingly calm, despite the fact he was rushing toward the ocean, after being kicked off of the boat, rushing to his death. "I would have thought it would have upset me a little bit, but it doesn't seem to. How very odd"

The water was blue and churning, Bane hit it like a brick into a plate-glass window. It hurt, oh boy did it hurt. Bane actually bounced against it, which didn't seem possible, but there you go. The sun got a lot brighter when Bane hit the water, and the ocean got a lot louder. Bane's chest felt heavy, collapsed maybe, like a cinder block on him.

Suddenly, Bane couldn't breath, or see, falling under the water. The water was smothering him personally dragging him down, trying to kill him.

_Angela was right...Or when I hit the water head first, I sustained a head injury, and now my thinking is gibberish. I need scissors! 61!_

Bane felt waves in the water next to him, as someone or something slammed into it. Then he could breath, he had to cough the water out of his snout, but he could breath. Bane was being held up in someone's hand, his arms and legs laying limp.

"I've got you" Michael continued to hold Bane up, allowing water to drip off, "Don't worry, I've got you" He pressed Bane against his damp, but still warm, body.

"Mi...chael" Bane blacked out, he slept. As he slept, he dreamed.

* * *

"What are you doing momma?" Bane asked. In front of the alter of Latios, Bane's mother was preparing a grass bowl full of berries. She held them up in one paw, a clay jar in another, and poured the liquid contents onto the berries.

"I'm preparing the offering of berries" She said. "It's once again time for one of the five offerings. I actually prefer this one most of all"

"Why is that momma?"

"It requires the least number of prayers" She said, "It's one of the biggest sacrifices, but it's the most fulfilling" She kneeled in front of the alter, and held the berries over her head. "Oh savior and protector, oh great goddess Latias, I bring you this offering, the fruit of our labors. I can not hope to understand your infinite wisdom, I only pray that you will bless this offering. Our lord and our savior"

"I need to talk to you momma" Bane said. She placed the bowl on the offering, and looked over at her son. "Momma, I'm tired of lying"

"Lying? What do you mean?" Her red eyes filled with concern, "You've been talking to Murray again, haven't you? What did he tell you to do? You can't tell the others in this village"

"Why can't I?" She turned her attention back to the alter for Latias. "Momma, I need a reason. I mean, I'm six years old, I need to know why. You've never given me a reason beyond they wouldn't understand"

"Well they wouldn't!" Bane jumped back as his mother flipped around so fast that she knocked the bowl of berries onto the ground. She squished a few as she walked over to him Softly, she placed her paw on her sons head. "They wouldn't understand Bane, and they don't have to. Their is a reason they choose to live in a valley with mountains on all sides. They don't have to interact with the outside world, they don't have to understand. It's easier for them not to understand" She sighed. "Did I ever tell you who my great-grand mother was?"

"Yes momma, she founded the village"

"Yeah, she and her mate got the calling from Latias to found a safe haven for pokemon, with no humans, outside pokemon, or elements of the world. Many pokemon still believe that the legendaries personally created this village for them, and if the bubble is ever burst, it will be destroyed" She smiled at her son. "I know why you want to tell them, I know it eats you up inside. I love every one in this village, having to lie to them hurts me also. But we have no choice. Do you understand?"

"Yeah momma, I understand" He bent down and started picking up berries, "I'll help you put the offering back together"

"Thank you Bane" She bent down beside her son, and helped him pick the berries up. Outside of the cave, dark clouds had gathered, and thunder could be herd.

* * *

I was with Bane when they took him to the infirmary. He was shaking like a leaf, and that bitch had broken one of his ribs (the bitch had one hell of a kick). They had pulled Michael back onto the boat, and when I saw Bane I had originally thought he was dead.

They put him on a table, and wrapped a blanket around his shivering body. I sat on the table beside him, watching him shake.

Michael and the nurse who had examined him were the only others in the room. Michael had told Louis and Lisa about the incident, but since the infirmary was roughly half the size of a coat closet, they couldn't all fit. I hated the damn room. It was sterile and lifeless. The floor, ceiling, and walls were all white, while the table and chairs were chrome. The only light was from a pair of fluorescent lights on the ceiling, which made a constant humming noise. Their was a psychedelic dream machine, a monitor thing, and a bunch of cabinets bolted into the wall, to keep them from crushing us all when the ship rocked back and forth.

"We wont be able to heal that broken rib until your Riolu wakes up" The nurse said, "But otherwise he's fine. If you want, I'll leave you alone for awhile"

"That would be great, thanks" As soon as she left, Michael came over to me and Bane. He started rubbing my back.

"It isn't your fault"

"It was my idea" I said, "I said battling would make him feel better. I said it would make him happy to win. He won, and he got kicked off of a boat. Explain in what way is it not my fault?"

"You didn't know she'd be such a bitch" Michael said, "No one could have seen that coming"

"I suppose" I mumbled. "I dunno. At least Louis took care of her" Louis and Lisa had arrived to see Bane get kicked over board. Louis walked over and asked her if she had a water pokemon. When she said she did, he tossed her over as well, telling her not to come back.

"I'm glad Louis did that" Michael growled, "If he didn't, I was going to" He paused, and stopped stroking my fur. "I think Bane is waking up" We both looked at the little Riolu. Bane had begun to squirm slightly under his blanket. Slowly, he opened his eyes and pushed himself up.

"W-Wha happened?" Bane rasped. "I was in the ocean..."

"You got kicked off a boat" I told him, "It happens"

"Ah, seems about right" He yawned again, and lay back down. "I'm going to go back to sleep, kay?"

"Kay" In a moment, Bane was asleep again, and dreaming again.

* * *

"Great goddess Latias" Bane's mother called out in front of the crowd of watching pokemon, "We thank you for this harvest, and we bring you these berries our goddess" Bane handed the bowl to his mother, who placed it on the public alter to Latias.

They stood in front of the public alter to Latias, which was actually a lot more grand then the one where Bane's mother prepared the offering. Behind them stood all of the pokemon in the village, except the water-types who floated in the stream a few yards away, and Shade who was somewhere in the woods.

They were all bowing before the alter, all of them paying tribute to Latias. It amazed Bane a little how much faith they had in the legendary they believed had given them this valley. Bane's mother currently was using a piece of flint to light the berries on fire.

"Please except this, and provide protection for us" Even though it was night, their was plenty of light coming from torches set up around them. Their was no light coming from the moon though, it was blocked by heavy clouds. Thunder could be heard roaring overhead.

"Please continue to shower us with blessings!" She cried out, holding the bowl of berries over her head. "Amen!" Bane watched his mother, and watched the sky. He watched as a single lightning bolt hit the forest surrounding the village.

Usually, a single lightning bolt wouldn't matter, but it had been a dry year. Even despite the storm, their was no rain. Instantly, the tree and the ones around it erupted into flames.

The fire instantly had all of their attention as it spread at an (unbelievable) rate. It took the pokemon in the village about six seconds to register what was going on. Then the panic started.

"Fire! Fire!"

"What's going on?"

"This is not my good profile!"

"Whose responsible?"

"Lightning you dork"

"Their are worse things then starring at the water on a Sunday!"

"Why did the goddess do this to us? What did we do so wrong?"

"It's funny" Aura said. While the mob of pokemon ran around chaotically, she stood there, almost unaware of what was going on. "On the same day that Bane said he wants to tell every one he's a human in a Riolu body, the forest catches on fire. Funny, right?" Everyone stopped and looked at Aura, before turning their attention to Bane.

"Shit"

* * *

"I can't still be a Riolu, I can't" Bane said. It was a couple of hours later, Bane was sitting up, Michael was outside getting some air, and I was talking to the pissed off Riolu.

"Well, you have to be happy to evolve" I said, "and unless you get smoked of turn on from being kicked by assholes with fat lips, I don't see how that could have made you happy"

"I need to evolve" Bane said, "Need to get strong, need to be happy. What makes me happy?"

"Knowing shit about people better then they know is Trish's thing" I said, "I make sarcastic comments at the expense of others" Bane frowned, and gave me surprisingly sad eyes. "Well, what did you enjoy doing?" This made him smile.

"Dancing" He said, "Above all else, I liked to dance. I would have loved to be a dancer someday, or a musical theatre actor. I...I haven't danced in so long"

"So why not do that?" Bane laughed.

"I can't"

"That's a bullshit reason"

"It is not! I just can't do it, I can't dance any more. It...It reminds me"

"Of what"

"Of my old life!" Bane's eyes were bulging out of his head. "I-I can't be reminded of my old life, not ever, ever again" I headbutted Bane, smacking him into the table. "Ow! What was that for?"

"For being an idiot!" I wanted to do it again, but I might damage him. "I hate being reminded of my old life, but I travel with a big reminder! I'm in love with one big reminder. I learned to deal with it, you should also" Bane opened his mouth to protest, but no sound came out. "What if we watched, would you dance?" It took him a moment, but finally he nodded.

"Yeah. How can we arrange that?"

* * *

The fire was put out with only a third of the forest burning up, and part of the village. Immediately after things went wrong.

It took about two seconds for everyone to call for the hanging of Bane, for betraying the trust of the legendaries, for bringing a plague on the village, for being the spawn of Satan, they blamed him for everything.

Well it was decided instead of stoning Bane to death (like one surly Golem had wanted) they would simply kick him out of the village. Bane's mother had protested, but Bane himself had insisted.

"They need you momma" He said, "They need you to give them direction and leadership"

"I'll bring a plague down upon them"

_I don't doubt it_ Bane thought to himself. A half an hour later, and he was making the slow trek up the hill, through the burned out forest.

Bane was surprised at how he felt about being kicked out. He didn't feel bad about it. He didn't feel good either, he just felt numb. You'd expect more of a reaction after being kicked out of a place that had given him so many happy memories, but nope.

"Bane wait!" Bane stopped, as Shade leapt from a burned out husk of a tree, landing in front of him.

"What do you want Shade?" Bane asked, using most of his energy to control his voice.

"I saw what they did" Shade said, placing a clawed hand on his arm, "They can't, they can't kick you out"

"No, they shouldn't" Bane replied, "They can do what ever they want to, no matter how wrong you or I think it is.

"But it is wrong! What did you do to deserve it?" Bane shrugged.

"Not a damn thing" He replied, "But it still happened. I have to go"

"Then let me come with you"

"Ha! No way" Bane smiled up at her. "You can't come with me"

"Fuck you and your condescension" Shade growled, "I'm coming with you"

"You can't" Bane said, "I have to do this on my own, I have to go and become stronger" He moved past her, and walked up the mountain. "I'll be back when I'm stronger. Until then...I don't know" Shade stood in silence, as Bane moved on over the hill, and into the rest of the world.

"Damn it Bane" Shade snared, biting her bottom lip, blinking back tears. She turned around, and for a moment she could have sworn she saw a Meowth in a tree, but it vanished in a moment.

* * *

We were all in Michael's room, all of us in a circle around Bane in a circle. Bane was sitting in front of us in a meditative pose. He opened one red eye, and looked at us. "Are we ready?"

"I guess so, are we ready?" I asked Michael.

"I'm sitting in a room on a cruise ship, waiting for my Riolu to dance" Michael said, "I'm never ready"

"Well I am" Bane said. He stood up and smiled at all of us. "I may be a bit rusty, I-I haven't done this in a while. But I just want to tell you just how much you mean to me. I love you like a third family"

"We love you to Bane" I said.

"Thank you" Bane smiled, "With that being said, I will get started" Bane breathed in, and began to dance.

I'd never seen Bane dance, and it isn't easy to describe. He didn't dance, he glided. His paws moved together, and apart, but they never seemed to touch the ground. He spun and twirled, his arms akimbo, taking a life of their own.

"I'm flying" Bane giggled, smiling and tears flying down his face. "Can you see me? I'm flying"

Bane began to glow white.


	112. Everyone Is An Idiot But Trish and Flash

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXII: Everybody is An Idiot, But Trish and Flash**

"This is incredible" Bane laughed. He stood towering in front of me, five times my size. "I can feel everything, I've got energy flowing into my head"

"What does the spike on your chest do?" I asked, "Or the ones on your paws?" Bane held them up and shrugged.

"I dunno, open cans? It isn't really clear. Nothing in these bodies make any sense, like feeling aura in my dread locks" Bane smiled, "But now I'm four feet tall I think!"

"Really?"

"No idea!" Bane said. "I do know however that I look really cool in this body! Plus, I'm hard as steel"

"...Usually a line I'd expect from Titan"

"NOT MY DICK!" He screamed. "I meant my fur and my skin! It's now made out of steel. I can scrape the paint off of walls with my fur. I can...do stuff! I can dance again" Now Bane looked down at me, blinking tears back from his red eyes. "Y-you gave ma that back Angela! Thank you-u-u" He broke down crying, and damn it, so did I.

The two of us were out on deck, Michael a few feet away watching us. The moon was out above me, making me feel strong. Bane had wanted to come out, I told Michael, and he let us out, while making sure I didn't look at the ocean and pass out.

"But seriously, thanks" Bane whimpered, as he quit crying. He looked back up at the moon, trembling. "I want to leave"

"It was...wait, what?" Bane laughed slowly.

"I'm willing to stay until we finish what we've already started, but after that I'm going to leave our group. I-I have to leave our group, so that I can return"

"To your village?"

"Exactly! I've gotten a lot stronger Angela, in the five months that I've been with us"

"Its been five months?" I asked. Bane nodded, and I sighed. _That leaves two months._

"Well, you all have helped me so much" Bane said, "But, although you're all my friends, I never had any intention of staying with you all forever. I would return to my village when I was stronger. I am stronger though Angela, I need to return soon"

I just stared, jaw dropped. My mind was completely blank, no idea how to respond, so I went with my gut instinct.

"No"

"No?" Bane asked.

"No! No you can't leave. You're going to go back into the room, and go to sleep, and when you wake up you won't want to go"

"Ang, you know that isn't true" Bane said, "Sleeping won't change that. When you wake up tomorrow, Rush will still be chipper, Gore Vidal will still be an asshole, and I'll still want to leave" He knelt down, his red eyes (unintentionally) piercing into mine, and he smiled. "I want you to tell Michael for me at some time, promise me you will"

"I p-prom" I broke down sobbing again, though this time for different reasons.

* * *

The next day was our last full day on the boat, before we arrived at Sootopolis. Everyone was in my (err, Michael's) room, and I mean everyone. Michael had promised to buy Louis and Lisa breakfast if they watched Bane dance (which in all honesty makes you wonder what kind of friends they are if they require payment for favors). Now are room was of course to small to hold everyone, but did that stop Louis and Lisa dumping their pokemon in here because they wanted semi-alone time?

"It looks like Jonestown" I mumbled to myself from my perch on Michael's pillow. Rush, who was sitting beside me, perked his annoying head up and turned to me.

"What's Jonestown?"

"Nothing that need concern your empty little head" I said. Rush kipped happily, and went back to sleep. It really did look like Jonestown though, everyone was out of their balls, and most were asleep. On the bed with me was Rush, Wisp, Bane, Pecha, and Streak. On the ground was Enfer, L3, Shu, Titan and Sharon (Who were on top of one another, as Dex wrapped them in webbing), Flash leaning against a wall, but no Trish. That's odd, where was

"I'm so bored I could scream" Trish said in my ear. I leapt a foot in the air, screaming, before flipping and looking up at the tiny metal bird.

"How in the fuck hell did you sneak up on me?" I asked.

"Heh, please" Trish fluttered down beside me, surveying the room as she did. "I think we should play a game, to pass time"

"Good for you thinking" I said.

"I'm serious! I demand entertainment! I'm not allowed to stretch my wings in this room, so I should get what I want"

"Well I don't care" I replied. Trish smiled.

"Fine then" She said. Trish then turned to Rush, and pecked him on the head. When his little head popped up, Trish started telling him "Rush, Angela wants to hear the complete list of things that make you happy. Oblige her"

"Kip! Well their are sunshine's, and rainbows, and rain drops, and rain, and rain water, and water, and sewer water"

"I give I give!" I cried, "Just please don't make me have to listen to Rush babble!" Trish smiled, and pecked Rush again. He spun in a circle, and collapsed, out cold. "If you want him to play a game, is that necessary?" Trish then flapped to the top of the room, and shrieked like a banshee.

Everyone jumped, shocked that the little Skarmory could make such a noise. They all looked down at Trish, who smiled at them. "I'm bored out of my skull, so I decided we're going to play a game"

"Why would we do that?" Trish started shrieking again, and we all screamed in unison "Stop! We'll play a game!"

"Good" Trish fluttered down and landed beside me. "Now what should we play?"

"Pecha says we should play Help The Chu Conquer The World, Then Rush Will Love Me!" She said all of that in a single breath. I wasn't sure if I should be impressed, or concerned.

"I've got a suggestion" Flash said, getting our attention. "We're all close to one another correct? Well, let's see how much we know about one another. A trivia competition, the questions being about each other. I of course will ask them"

"Why should you?"

"Does anyone else want to?" Flash asked. "No? Good, then divide yourselves into two teams, Trish you lead one, someone else can lead the other, as long as it isn't Pecha"

"Why not Pecha?" Pecha asked, "Do you not trust the Chu?"

"It's not that Pecha" Flash said, "It's just that, your intelligence should be focused on conquering the world, not playing a game"

"Pecha is so great she shouldn't be winning games" Pecha said, listening to Flash's circular logic, "Pecha agrees!"

"Of course she does" I said, "I'll lead the other group, anyone disagree?"

"Well actually" Shu began. I shadow balled him in the face, and he shut up.

"No? Good!" We quickly divided into two teams, Team Incredible, and Team Trish. On Team Incredible was me, Sharon, Pecha, Enfer, Nel, and Bane. On Team Trish was Trish, Titan, Shu, Streak, Wisp, and Rush. L3 decided not to play, and would be Flash's vaguely scary assistant.

"Alright, here's how we'll play" Flash said to me and Trish, "One person from each team will come up, and I'll ask a question. Who ever answers it first gets a point, if they miss the question goes to the other team. No one gets it, no one gets a point. Deal?"

"Deal" We said.

"Good, then for the first question" Flash paused for a moment, "Which type of berry is Nel allergic to?" I don't know, how on earth would I know that? Well Nel had ranted about it one time, but it was right after her speeches on all the things that scare her, so of course I wasn't listening.

"Aguav!" Trish said.

"Correct!" Damn it. One question and Team Fuckernaught was already ahead. The two of us moved to the back of the line, while Titan and Sharon moved foreword.

"What is Rush's absolute favorite thing?" Flash asked.

"Blowjobs!" Titan cried out. Sharon reached over, and smacked him upside hit tin head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"That's your absolute favorite thing dear" Sharon said, "The answer is being hugged"

"Correct!" The two moved back, Shu and Pecha moved up. "What type of music does Bane most like dancing to?"

"Pecha cares not for the dance!" Pecha cried, "Pecha will burn your dance halls, and replace them with re-chucation centers! All will perish! Rush will love me! New Chu Order!"

"Why is she on our team?" I asked.

"The answer is waltz" Shu said, before sticking his tongue out at Pecha. Pecha tried to zap him but of course, failed and hit herself. They moved back, Enfer and Streak moved up.

"What city did Shu live near when he was human?" Flash asked.

"Well the thing about life is, it's like the ocean" Streak said, "It ebbs and flows, and no two spots are truly alike or different, so in a way, doesn't Shu still live near there?" We all stared at Shu, absolutely confounded by the dumbness that had been spewed out of his mouth.

"Pyrite town" Enfer said.

"Incorrect!" Flash said, both of them missing the question, thus making it null and void. The two moved back, Wisp and Nel moved up. "What was the name of the first creature Titan hit on? Bonus point if you know what species it was"

"It was" Nel began. Wisp growled, and Nel shrieked like a harpy, before running to the back of the line, trembling.

"It was Diana, a Skitty" Wisp said. "He hit on her, and although she said know, he still brags about it today" With two points, Team Assmunch was ahead again.

"We have to win this!" I cried, "We need to stop dicking around and start beating the other guys!"

"You know Angela, this was just supposed to be a fun diversion" Sharon said.

"Screw diversions! I need to win!" My eyes bulged out of their sockets as I ranted this.

"You know" Bane said, "You can be a little over competitive"

"A little?" I asked, "You think that!? I'd laugh, but that would distract you, and you need to win this for me!" Bane sighed, and moved ahead with Rush.

"When did Enfer first save Louis from being burned to death"

"When he was eleven!" Bane said.

"Correct!" Flash said. Bane laughed and did a happy dance, which Rush joined in on like a moron. The two danced to the back of the line, me and Trish moved up, starting the line up all over again.

"Great, here we are again" I said, "I will win it this time though!"

"Correct!" Flash said.

"...Wait, what?"

"Flash already asked the question, what did Sharon consider her proudest moment, which was the hatching of Dex" Trish said, "If you hadn't have been ranting, you would have heard the question"

"...Damn it!" We moved back, me cursing the entire way, Titan and Sharon came back up.

"What movie traumatized Angela, and continues to do so to this day?" Flash asked. Oh God, I don't even like mentioning that movie, I'm begging you do not mention that again"

"What was it called?" Titan mumbled, "She said it before, what was it?"

"Supergirl?" Sharon asked.

"Yeah! Supergirl!" Titan chimed in.

"Correct!" Flash said. He paused, and shrugged. "I'll give the point to Titan, since he actually answered the question, even though you gave him the answer Sharon"

"Why the hell did you give him the answer!" I screamed at the Flygon. Sharon picked me up, and shook me rapidly. "What was that for?"

"Calm down" Sharon said, "I did it because Titan is my mate, and I love him. Do you understand?"

"...No!" I cried. "Also, put me down!" Sharon sighed, and dropped me flat on my ass. "Because of you, once again, we're behind!"

"Actually, because of me, we're two points behind. Because of you, we're behind"

"I choose to not admit that" I said. Pecha and Shu moved to the front of the line.

"Who does Shu think never shuts up?" Flash asked.

"Pecha thinks!"

"Pecha is correct" Flash said. Pecha froze in mid-rant, followed by the rest of us, jaws dropped. Pecha had gotten a question correct. The world as we knew it was going to end, wasn't it? Pecha and Shu moved back, Enfer and Streak moved up.

"What is Wisp's real name?" Flash asked. I heard Wisp whimper a little at the mention, but when I turned to look at her, her face was emotionless as ever.

"Nevi!" Enfer called out.

"Correct" Flash called out. Yes! Thanks to Enfer, we were now tied with Team Dumbshit! I had no idea when the game would end, but all we needed was to stay one point ahead of them until the end! Then my life would have meaning! Enfer and Streak moved back, while Wisp and Nel moved up.

"Okay Wisp, this is your only warning" Flash said, "No scaring Nel just for the sake of wining" Wisp mumbled something, and nodded. "Now, what was Trish's position in her old flock?" Oh crap I actually knew this one! I started jumping up and down, trying desperately to hold the answer in.

"Crap, what was that" Wisp said, "It wasn't one of the warriors, one of the scholars, what was she? She was? She was?"

"...Child of the ruler?" Nel asked meekly. Flash smiled and nodded. "D-did I get it right?! Yayayayay!" Wisp and Nel (who was giggling happily) moved to the back of the line, while Bane and Rush moved up. Finally, we were ahead, now Bane just needed to answer this question correctly.

"How old is L3?" Flash asked. Bane started to think about it, while Rush just started chirping out random numbers"

"31! 47! 2!"

"Two is correct!"

"Wait, I wasn't done yet" Bane protested.

"Don't care, Rush gets the point, and you're tied again" Flash looked at our two groups. "I think it's time we ended this little game, with one more tie-breaker question. Trish, Angela, you two were next, so you two come up"

_Okay Angie, you can do this_ I said to my self. Flash looked at Trish, then at me, then back to Trish. "Who in this group do I like? More then anyone else? Even if she isn't aware?"

_Crap! Wait, I know this one! Gotta think quickly, even Trish is having trouble with this one. It's...It's..._


	113. Love

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXIII: Love**

"A freaking tie game" I mumbled, "All because I couldn't remember one question! It's crap!"

"It happened 12 hours ago" Bane snarled, "Go to sleep" I stuck out my tongue, then slumped down on Michael's chest. I of course couldn't sleep, not while we were under water.

As you know, since Sootopolis is under water, only special ships that could dive were allowed to travel there. We were in one of those special ships right now. Fuck I felt sick.

The ocean all around me. I had wondered why all of the rooms were pressure sealed, and why all the furniture was nailed down. Well, I got my answer. The night music was the sound of a boat pushing through water, the heavy drum of the engine, and the constant vibration in the walls.

Flash had been a little depressed when we were unable to answer the question, I suspect because he knew everything about us, and we knew nothing about him. Trish and Nel had got and talked to him, and afterwards he seemed like he was in a better mood.

I opened my eyes again, scanning the dark room. All I saw were outlines of pokemon, and no hope to escape.

Truth be told, I was also nervous about the gym battle we would soon be having. One last battle, then it would all be over. No more traveling, no more training, all done for now. When it was over though, what then? Screw it, I can think about it later.

* * *

Benny Barklay had worked for the Hoenn Pokemon League for over thirty years. All it had earned him was a stomach ulcer, no girlfriends, and two blue balls. Like most fifty year old unmarried men, his life was his job, and he always went in on Saturday.

What he didn't know was he had been monitored for days now, and that his otherwise pointless life was going to become very significant.

Like every other day, he ate his breakfast of a bagel and stale coffee. He walked out to his car, in his garage, no problem. It was when he finally got in his car that he noticed something.

"Whose" That's all he got out when a figure popped up from his back seat, and stuck a syringe in his neck. Benny gasped, and the collapsed.

"Don't worry Benny" Tagger mumbled, "You're going to help me do something very important, and I know you're willing to sacrifice yourself for it. The needs of the superior out weigh the needs of the ordinary"

* * *

"That's Sootopolis" I said, a bit of awe in my voice.

"You sound impressed" Shu said to me. I was, mostly at how they had built it inside of a crater. But what really impressed me was this city had been destroyed in the Strife of the Legendaries over 20 years ago, and they had rebuilt it. Anything that happened in the world involving pokemon I'd know inside and out, and the Strife impressed me, especially considering it happened in my own back yard.

"I feel nervous" I heard Wisp say to Rush, "All of this water, all around me. I mean, I'm not scared..."

"Don't worry, you've got twenty pounds of Kip to protect you" Rush kipped happily. I sighed, and looked up at Michael. His eyes were shut, and he was mumbling something to himself.

"What do you think about getting married some place like this?" Louis asked. He was draped on Lisa, who was able to support him without leaning on her cane. What does that say about how much stronger then him she was?

"Of course not" Lisa said, "We're going to get married while sky diving out of an airplane, the priest with us. I expect to be married when we hit the ground"

"You've only got one functioning leg!"

"So? That just makes me more of a man then you" No shit. I looked over at Bane, who was crying as he was forced to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" for about the ninth time. Pecha, riding on Nel, was using this to force Bane into the Chu order. Of course, I had made him sing it a couple of times myself, just for fun though.

The boat began to pull onto the dock, finally ending this never ending nightmare. I don't think I need to tell you just how much I hated this trip my dear listener, but I really hated it. I mean I was grateful for Sharon and Titan's new happiness, and I was happy Bane evolved, because I...cared...about them. Yeesh, it's still hard to admit that.

It took almost thirty minutes for the boat to be docked, and for them to begin off loading us. One thing I noticed as I walked off was the air was almost perfectly still, and the water was smooth as glass. This place was a dome, no waves, no wind, nothing.

"It feels good to be back on solid ground" Michael said. His legs trembled slightly, but he was able to stay upright. I fell flat on my ass, of course. As I flipped back up, I paused for a moment.

"Do you guys see a tall, black goober wearing a sweater in Hoenn?" I asked. We all turned, to see a tall, bald, black man with giant glasses, and a sweater. He had a Mightyena beside him, and was stopping people walking by.

"Yes, I was, er, I am looking for Lisa Jeffries" The man said, "She's about yay high, looks like a goddess, has glasses"

"Charlie?" Lisa asked. The man and the Mightyena flipped around. The Mightyena with only one eye. The...

An image like a film strip, playing over the Mightyena's face. A greasy looking man, on his knees, begging for his life. The people in front of him were also rather suspect, this was not a good guy. They raised a gun, and blew his brains through his skull.

"Nice" I mumbled, turning to Shu, "Who do you think" Shu was frozen, his face void of emotion other then rage. "Shu?"

"Him" Shu growled. "It's him"

**A Long Time Ago In Orre**

"We saw people here, they have to be here" The voice's of the bandits carried down, through the floor boards, to under the house. Shu, his mother, and his sister were dead quiet, not even moving, trying not to breathe.

"Check under the floorboards" One of the voices said. All of their hearts skipped a beat.

"Their isn't any room, no one could fit down there"

"I guess you're right" The first voice said. A slight pause. Then a click, before bullets from a machine gun rained down through the floor boards, causing Shu's sister to scream.

A minute later, all three were held by the bandits. Their were five bandits, dressed in rags, a few with chains around them. All of them were armed with rifles, a few with shotguns, and the one guy standing in front of them appeared to have eight handguns sewn onto various parts of his clothing.

"One of our men never returned last night" The man said, his voice heavily accented, "I don't like that. I like to know what happens to my men, right Jocko?"

"Darrius likes to know what happens to his men" One of the men, Jocko said.

"When I found my associates corpse" Darrius said, gesturing with his rifle, "I was very, very upset. You know, I really don't like being upset" Shu only then noticed that this psycho path was wearing eye liner. "So which one of you killed him?" Shu's mother was quiet, Shu's sister was sobbing, and Shu was seething. "Was it you?"

Darrius was pointing the rifle at Shu's sister. With that, she wailed as loud as she could. He slammed the butt of the rifle into her face, knocking Shu's sister out cold. Blood began to dribble out of cuts in her face. "No, how about you?" He aimed the rifle at Shu.

"How about this?" Shu lunged, with all of his energy, able to break free of the man holding him. He opened his mouth, intent on clamping down on one thing. The human jaw has the third strongest muscle in the body, behind the heart and the muscles in the vaginal cavity. Shu learned this from watching Magic Schoolbus episodes when he was little, and he had never thought he'd need this info, he did now though.

Shu bit Darrius in the genitals, biting down as hard as he possible could. Darrius screamed, and (much to Shu's joy) began to cry. Darrius then hit Shu in the top of the head, sending him slamming into the ground.

"T-take the other two into the other room" Darrius screamed, "Ravage them" Darrius grabbed Shu's arms, and twisted them behind him. He then jerked the boy to his feet.

Shu's vision had gone foggy, as blood dribbled down the front of his face, and through his hair. Darrius began to whisper in his ear "You haven't screamed boy, why the fuck haven't you screamed?"

"Fuck you" Shu snarled, spitting blood out. His lip was also cut, from striking the door. Darrius grinned.

. "Not me whose being fucked. Oh no, it's your mother and your sister" Laughing, Darrius dragged Shu into the next room, where hell on earth waited.

Shu's mouth was open, but no his throat. His eyes were wide, but he couldn't cry. He wanted to die, but death was laughing at him, unwilling to take him.

Two men, on top of his mother, on top of his sister. His young sister, his sainted mother. Doing unspeakable things to them. His sister's arm reached out.

"S-Shu, run" She gasped.

"Aren't you two cumming?" Darrius asked.

"I-I'm done" One of the men gasped. He pulled out a hand gun, and fired a bullet into Shu's sister, robbing her of her life. Her eye's bulged for a second, then went glassy.

"NO" Shu screamed. Darrius let go of his arms, only to grab one of them again, and use the other to press a knife against Shu's throat.

"What's the matter?" Darrius hissed, "Didn't like what happened to your sister?"

"She's just a baby!"

"AND BABY NEEDED A GOOD FUCK" With that, Darrius sliced Shu across the throat.

Shu fell to the ground, gurgling, blood coming up to his mouth, dripping out his open mouth. "You know, you're not dying quick enough" Darrius fired his gun into Shu, and Shu stirred no more.

This was the first of three times Shu would deal with Darrius.

* * *

"Whose him?" I asked. Shu wasn't willing to say anything else, rather standing still, like a statue.

"What are you doing here Charlie?" Lisa asked.

"Whose Charlie?" Michael asked. "The name is familiar"

"Lisa's ex-fiancée, control freak asshole" Louis mumbled.

"I'm not a control freak!" Charlie cried out.

"But you are an asshole? Nice to know" Lisa grabbed Charlie, to stop him from trying to beat Louis. I find it disturbing that she was able to hold him with only one arm, and stop him from moving. Why is it I only interact with lame guys except Michael?

Charlie turned and looked at Lisa, grabbing onto her. Louis bristled, but Michael stopped him from doing anything that might embarrass us, and the human race as a whole.

"I-I've been looking for you Lisa" Charlie stammered, "I mean, when you ran out, I didn't know what happened to you"

"I was traveling" Lisa said in a flat voice. "I decided not to be champion. Shit like that happens"

"I don't care! If you didn't want to be champion, I was fine" His eyes locked with hers, "Why didn't you want to marry me?"

"I dunno, why is it you've been talking to me for five minutes and not noticed the cane?" Charlie gasped as he looked over the cane, which I thought was a bit of an over reaction. I dunno, maybe he was just really impressed by pieces of wood.

"I-How?"

"A psycho in a rubber mask shot me" Lisa snarled, "He killed Virgil by the way. Now that you know that, it's time to go, come on guys" She began to hobble away.

"Wait!" Charlie cried. Lisa sighed, and turned back to him.

"What now?"

"You wanna know why I got a Mightyena?" He asked. "You haven't asked that either?"

"Okay, fine. Why do you have a Mightyena?"

"Because I wanted to get more connected to your world" Charlie said, in a soothing voice.

"What a cheese ball" Louis mumbled.

"I wanted to know what it was like to have something need me, to have me as its only lifeline, and it changed me" He pulled out a key from his pocket, one that had a key chain from a cheep motel. "I'm in room 16. Come see me, just to talk" With that, Charlie walked off, his Mightyena with him"

Lisa looked down at the key in her hand. Louis moved over to her, draping his arm over her shoulder.

"What a freak"

"Yeah" Lisa let out a nervous laugh, "I'm going to go talk to him"

"What?" We all cried out.

"You're going to go fuck your ex-fiancée?" Louis asked.

"NO!" Lisa cried.

"I dunno, sounds like that to me" Michael pointed out.

"Well no one asked what you thought" Lisa growled, "I'm just going to go talk to him, I owe him that much" She sighed, and began to clutch her cane with both hands. "I owe him because I still ran away, I climbed out the bathroom window for fucks sake. I need to talk to him" Louis sighed, and nodded.  
"Alright, I trust you"

"Thanks Lou" She said, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll meet you guys at the hotel room"

"We don't have a room yet!"

"I'll know which one is our room, it'll be the shitty one" Lisa cried.

* * *

"Lou, you need to calm down" Michael said.

"Can't calm down, wont calm down" Louis mumbled, as he paced back and forth. "I need to know what's going on"

"You want to marry this woman, and you don't trust her?"

"NO! I need to know!" Louis cried, "I need to know where she is at every single moment of the day"

We were in our room at the luxurious Pressmen Hotel. Our room had no ceiling, just pipes running above us, and the floor of the room above us. I was on one of the three beds with Pecha, Wisp, Nel, Rush, Bane, and Streak.

What most drew my attention though was Shu. He was staring at a wall, mumbling to himself about something. He knew that other Mightyena. All I knew was the guy got shot, and had greasy hair when human.

Wisp was the only one with me on the bed still awake. She also said she knew Shu before, and had been his friend, so she was my best source for info.

"Hey" I said, slumping down beside Wisp. Wisp gave me a nod, and went back to staring into space. "You were Shu's friend you said"

"I say a lot of things" Boy Wisp was a chatter box.

"Yeah, but you haven't talked to him much since he joined the group" I pointed out. Wisp shrugged.

"Doesn't remember me" Seriously, I never knew if I could get her to shut up.

"So? If anything, you should be going to talk to him more, to see if you can get him to remember you"  
"No" Wisp growled.

"Why not?"

"I don't deal with injured people" Wisp snarled.

"Why not!?"

"I just don't!" We all jumped at that one. Wisp had leapt to all fours, and now froze, breathing slowly. She calmed herself, and sat back down. "If you care, you go"

"I will" I said, leaping off the bed. I padded past several lumps of pokemon, over to Shu. He didn't even notice me when I sat down. "Shu, who was that other Mightyena?" Shu didn't even turn my direction, just kept mumbling. "Shu?"

"My memory is coming back" Shu stated. "I don't want to talk about it. What do you think Lisa is doing?"

* * *

"Oh my God" Lisa moaned. Her head was on Charlie's bare chest, as he stroked her hair.

"It was never that good when we were together" Charlie said, "Was it?"

"No, it was definitely the best here" Lisa said, "Oh my God"

* * *

Nightfall came quickly, but I didn't sleep. Oh, I was on Michael's chest pretending to sleep, but I was no more asleep then Louis was.

"What are you going to do Shu?" I mumbled, watching him. He was still staring at the wall, but no longer mumbling. I watched him for about an hour, about to give up, when he stood.

Shu padded over silently to Titan and Sharon, asleep in the corner. Dex was on his arm, also asleep. Shu picked up the spider in his mouth, and padded into the bathroom.

Somehow, and don't ask me how, I heard the bathroom window push open. By now I was off of Michael's chest and running, but by the time I got to the bathroom, the two were already gone.


	114. Hate

**AN: **Well, if Paradise was my least favorite chapter, this is my personal favorite.

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXIV: Hate**

Dying has sucked for Shu. Really really sucked for Shu. He desperately didn't need to be dead, he needed to be alive to protect his mother, to see if his sister was still alive. To see if their was anything he could do.

Instead, he found himself floating in eternity, the vast emptiness of eternity. An absolute nothing, a black void. The only thing was, he wasn't alone.

In front of Shu was a large white creature, with a metal ring around his chest, with four prongs sticking out. Arceus, supposed ruler of all the legendaries.

_Greetings Ryan_ It's voice boomed in Shu's head.

"How do you know who I am?" Shu asked.

_I know almost everything_

"...Almost?"

_Except where Mew came from. No one knows the answer to that. _Arceus looked at Shu, his eyes burning into the dead boy. _You're dead Ryan. You know this, and I know this._

"That man killed me" Shu said.

_Darrius? Yes he was the engine of your death. Sad I know, but it simply couldn't be helped. You were supposed to die that day, you and your family._

"I have to get back" Ryan said, "I've got to protect my family"

_Your family is dead. _Arceus said that in the most flat, emotionless mind-voice possible. _You can't go back to them as you, you have a hole in your head._

"Then fix it!"

_Illogical, I would also have to fix the hole in your throat. Life can not be re-done. It is beyond my vast abilities. I have the ability to place you in a new body though._

"You would? Could you make sure that the body is the same age as mine?"

_You would be sent back much younger._

"Of course I would" Shu sighed, "Great, I have to be a baby again"

_Not a human baby_

"....You don't mean?" Shu looked up, "A pokemon?" Arceus nodded. "You must be joking!"

_I never joke. Never under any circumstances. Now make up your mind human, my time is valuable._

"Can't be that valuable" Ryan murmured, "Sigh, what choice do I have? Bring me back" Arceus nodded.

_You will be returning as one of the few pokemon who come into this earth through live birth. I doubt it will be pleasant, but you will experience every moment._

Arceus connected eyes with Shu. Suddenly the dead boy was flying, flying through space and it was very dark.

Warm, but not in the right way. Pressure all around him, crushing him pushing him through what felt like a small tube. Voices, muffled voices, why couldn't he breath? Oh God it was unbearable, he had to get out!

Suddenly though he was. Shu was on the ground, cold and dirty. Goo was sliding off of his little body, off his fur, and he was cold. The fact that he was suddenly really small and furry didn't really bother him, no what bothered him was how bright and big everything was.

"He's beautiful" A male voice said.

"I know" Another voice, female. "Welcome to the world little one" Shu cracked his little eye open to see the smiling muzzle of his mother, moments before she began to lick him clean.

* * *

Wisp had gone to bed on the bed Lisa was supposed to be using. She was on the pillow by herself, as far away from Pecha as she could possibly be. She had thought a little about what Angela had said, but had more or less pushed it out of her mind.

Sadly, it came screaming back when Wisp opened her eyes and found herself outside of the hotel, at my feet. She looked up at me slowly.

"You're responsible for this, aren't you?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Better question, how am I outside?" Wisp asked, as she slowly pushed herself off of the ground.

"Blame Shu for that" I said, "He somehow got the window open, then took off, and you're going to help me find him"

"And if I refuse?" Wisp asked.

"Then I dump you in the ocean" I said, "And you never resurface. Is that a good enough reason" Wisp shrugged.

"You wouldn't do it"

"I could do it if I wanted to!" I protested.

"Whatever" I noticed Wisp couldn't look me in the eye, and her six tails were swaying nervously. "Why do you need me to help you find Shu?"

"Simple" I said, "At first I was at a loss of how best to find him. Then of course I thought about it, what do pokemon have that human's don't?"

"Intelligence?" She asked, dripping sarcasm.

"NO! We have a better sense of smell, we can track him better" I sighed, "The problem is, even after a year in this body, I still can't track him"

"Enfer has the best sense of smell of any of us" Wisp pointed out, "Why didn't you wake her up?"

"Because I chose you. You were Shu's friend you claimed, and you're going to help me find him. Understand?"

"No"

"To bad!" I cried, "Now help me find him" Wisp sighed, and sniffed the air. "Got anything?"

"Well yes" Wisp said, "But I could have told you what direction he wanted if my nose were cut off.

"How?" Wisp gestured, and I looked down. In the muddy ground we stood on were several noticeable Mightyena footprints, headed off in one direction, through the bushes. "...Damn it"

* * *

Charlie and Lisa fell asleep in each others arms, and I'm not going to tell you much of their story today my dear listener, I'll get to it later.

Darrius, Charlie's Mightyena was asleep in the bathroom, Lisa having locked him in there. He was asleep, dreaming of all the women he had nailed, when the glass from the little window above him exploded. He looked up just in time for the fragments of glass to spray down onto his muzzle and one eye. "What in the fuck?"

"Miss me you bastard?" Shu asked.

"I knew I recognized you" Darrius laughed, "Didn't I kill you once you fucker?

"You did more then that" Shu snarled, "You killed everyone I cared about, and you're going to pay for that, I'll see to it personally. I'm going to kill you. Come and get me you cowardly bastard, come and get me" Shu dropped out of the window, blood dribbling out of little cuts in his fur.

"You want me you fucker? You got me!" Darrius cried, leaping through the open window.

Charlie's hotel was located on one of the many plateau's in Sootopolis, with trees and rocks all around it. Shu ran up a few rocks, and into a grove of trees, followed by Darrius.

"Come on baby, where are you?" Darrius called out, "Daddy wants to fuck you! Come out you fucker!" Shu's scent was every where, on every tree and all of the ground. Darrius could see his foot prints though, and followed them into a clearing.

The clearing was a flat rock with trees and big rocks circling around it. Trees with long branches hung over the rock, blocking out the moon light. Darrius stepped onto it, his nails clicking nervously.

"Where are you!?" Shu stepped out from behind one of the rocks in front of Darrius. He smiled at the murderer. "There you are" Darrius took off running, got three steps, and was yanked off of the ground by a net made from Dex's webbing.

"You know" Shu said, stepping foreword, "Few people ever recognize my ingenuity. Had I lived as a human, I could have been an engineer, and a good one. With no thumbs and four legs, I've engineered your death" Darrius ignored this, and began gnawing on the string. "I wouldn't do that, that webbing is extremely sticky. It takes a knife to cut through that, all you'll do is web your mouth shut, and look stupid"

"I can blast my way through it" Darrius growled.

"Go ahead, if you blast through all of the webbing you'll hit your head on the rock. Not that it matters, you'll be dead in a second. Take a look around you" Darrius looked, and in addition to the net, Shu had rigged four other thick strands of webbing. The webbing was anchored to four rocks around Darrius, went up and through the trees, and held four more large rocks.

"Let me explain it to you" Shu said, "Since your caveman brain can't possibly grasp what's being done to you. Spinarak webbing is stronger then a steel cable. Said webbing is currently holding back four rocks that, when released, will swing and smash your head into pulp. Two will only smash your ribs, so I'll let you chose. Smash your head, death quickly, or smash your ribs and collapse your lungs. Of course, you may have a chance to escape with that one"

"I'll kill you!" Darrius screamed. He fired a hyper beam, and Shu stepped back, causing the beam to turn part of the rock into gravel. "You fucker! I'll kill you, you hear me!"

"Not going to happened" Shu snarled, "Not this time Darrius. This time, you'll get to know what it's like. I watched you kill my sister, my mother, I watched you kill my father Darrius. You're a parasite, sucking the life out of healthy host bodies to substitute for the life you don't possess! I'm not going to stand for it anymore, you die now!"

* * *

"He's in these woods" Wisp said, "We know this, now can I go?" At this point in time Wisp had asked to leave seven times, and I was sick to death of it. Shu was a close friend to me, probably my closest behind Trish and Bane. Even though I don't like to admit it, his safety and happiness were important to me, and the fact Wisp didn't give a damn made me want to puke. I was about ready to just shadow ball her, and get it done with.

"What the fuck is your problem?" I cried out.

"Nothing is my problem" Wisp said, "I just want to go"

"Why?!" Wisp sighed.

"I am a warrior above all else" Wisp said, "Do you believe me?"

"Sure, why not. What the fuck does that have to do with anything?" Wisp began to squirm.

"I've been taught to not let emotional problems bother me, to be as hard as the rock, and as indestructible. I don't deal well with comrade's who have been wounded. I can deal with it in the heat of battle, but afterwards..."

"Wounded? You mean his amnesia? Don't blame him, blame Dana for throwing a shoe at him!"

"I do! It's just, he didn't recognize me any more" Wisp said, "He was hurt, and that scared me. I know that doesn't make sense, but it scared me"

"...Okay, thinking like Flash I assume that you figured, if Shu could get hurt, you could get hurt" Wisp nodded quickly. "That's really stupid!"

"I know it is" Wisp said, "Like being afraid the ocean will find you on dry land. "I don't care Wisp, if you honestly care about Shu, you'll help me find him" Wisp nodded.

"I have a question, since we've been trailing him by foot prints, and you see better in the dark then in the light, why are you not leading us?"

"...Shut up!" Few people can think of as brilliant and witty comebacks as I. With that I took off ahead, following the foot prints I could see perfectly. Pretty soon though a second pair of foot prints appeared along side them, oh boy.

* * *

We ended up in front of a large rock, with a circle of rocks and trees circling it. Above us was the one-eyed Mightyena from yesterday, hanging in a net made out of webbing from Dex. Dex was asleep on a rock, smiling as only a Spinarak can. Shu looked at us, and he looked pretty crazy. The underside of his fur was streak with blood, his legs were coated in mud, and he wasn't blinking.

"Shu?" He looked at me and smiled.

"Hey Angela. Sorry you had to see me like this, I'm taking out the trash" He was oddly calm about the entire thing, as if having a Mightyena strung up didn't really bother him.

"What have you done?" Wisp asked.

"What I should have done along time ago" Shu said, his voice taking an edge to it. "I'm stringing up this bastard, this murderer who exists only to ruin my life. I'm taking my life back from him! Take a look" We looked up, and only finally noticed the large rocks and intricate rigging with the webbing.

"What is this?"

"The instrument of his death" Shu snarled.

"You're friend has gone nuts!" Darrius cried out, "You gotta get me down from here!"

"Shut up"

"Fuck you!" Yeah, definitely not endearing himself to me.

"Who is this loser?" Wisp asked, "What did he do to you"

"What did he do!? He did...he.." Shu sat down, tear drops appearing in the corners of his eyes, "He killed my family, twice. Once as a human, once as a pokemon. He knew they loved me, so he killed them. His name is Darrius, and I'm finally going to give him what's coming to him" I was stunned, I had to stop him. Only problem was my specialty wasn't stopping people from committing acts of revenge, if anything it was encouraging them.

"Shu stop!" Wisp called out, running across the rock. She stopped a foot away from him, eyeing him nervously. "You can't do this, what would your family say?"

"Kill that son of a bitch!"

"...Probably, bad example. What would Darrius say?"

"Huh?" Shu cried out, "What would fuck balls up there say? What does that have to do with anything"

"Better yet, what would he do in your situation?" Wisp asked.

"Kill that fucker" Darrius snarled, "I'll kill all of you, you hear me!? You're fucking dead"

"He'd have done it" Shu said, preparing to fire off a hyper beam. _Yeah, I'll do what he did, I'll be a killer. I can do this, I can kill a man._

"Can you be Darrius?" Wisp asked, "Because guess what, you do that you're just as bad as him. Shu, what makes you and me different from that piece of shit up there is that we choose not to kill" Shu let the hyper beam die in his mouth.

"He has to be punished"

"He will" Wisp said, "As long as the legendaries exist, he will be punished"

"The fact that the legendaries had to put him into that body kind of defeats that theory" Wisp shot me a dirty look. "What?"

"I'll leave him here" Shu said, "But in return, you have to talk to me more, you have to be my friend again"

"I will Shu, I promise. Truth be told, I should have been before, and I'm sorry" Shu smiled softly.

"Thank you Wisp" Shu then turned and fired two dark pulsed, destroying two of the anchors. Two rocks came down and slammed into Darrius, slammed into his skull. The sound of bones breaking filled the air, as Darrius died again.

We both stared at Shu, absolutely stunned. He sighed. "I know you can't understand"

"You're right I can't" Wisp said, "But, the three of us won't let anyone else know what happened. We'll protect you Shu. I won't understand, but...maybe it's best that I don't"

You gotta remember something my dear listener, in a perfect world Shu wouldn't have given in. It wasn't a perfect world though, people had feelings and deep anger that didn't just go away. We protected Shu, we didn't tell anyone that happened. One day we found out about the death of his other family.

That is a story though for another day.


	115. The Last Badge I

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXV: The Last Badge I**

"I have to go see her" Louis said, pacing back and forth, "Got to see how she's doing"

"I don't think you want to do that" Michael said, "You may end up regretting it" It was the next day and we were back in our room. Myself, Wisp, and Shu had told no one what had happened yesterday, and Dex was to young to remember. The less said about what happened, the better.

Titan was out of his ball, and cradling Dex. I only mention it because Michael had a TM strapped to his head, and was more or less drilling knowledge in. What was in the TM? No idea, but it must have been something useful.

"Maybe you're right" Louis said, "Maybe I should trust her"

Kkkkrrraaa-ccckkk. Louis was able to get the door kicked down in only one kick, which in all honesty really surprised me.

Louis had finally decided whether he would trust Lisa, or go confront her. Since he was kicking Charlie's door down, guess which he chose?

Enfer and I were the only ones out, behind Michael occasionally we shot each other looks, nothing needed to be said.

"At what moment did common sense abandon us?" Michael moaned, as we walked into Charlie's room. We entered just in time to see Lisa and Charlie jump up. The two were lying on top of a bed, almost fully dressed (minus shirt) and the bed was still made.

"LOUIS" Lisa screamed.

"I don't get it, when we have sex, springs pop out of the matters" Louis said.

"Maybe that's because I wasn't having sex" Lisa snarled, "Charlie, get me my gun, I'm going make Louis a woman"

"No need to do that" Louis cried, putting his hands over his crotch. "I got anxious"

"Got your gun" Charlie said, handing it to Lisa. She aimed, and fired, missing Louis's head and showering plaster down.

"If you weren't having sex, what were you doing?" Louis asked. Lisa put her gun down.

"Talking you idiot, about old times" Lisa cried out. "Now sit still, I'm going to knock of your head" She prepared to aim again, and Louis hit the ground.

"Then why doesn't he have a shirt?"

"...I may have lit it on fire" Louis walked over to the trash can, and pulled out the burned remains of an ugly sweater. "I may have tossed one of those mini-vodka bottles over my shoulder while I wasn't looking and Charlie was lighting a cigarette. Only maybe though"

"We talked all night" Charlie said, "I tried to convince Lisa to come back to Johto with me" Louis pivoted and kicked Charlie in the solar plexus. Charlie fell to the ground, desperately trying to breath. Louis laughed, only to have Lisa club him on the head with her gun.

"And I said no you moron" Lisa growled, "If I didn't find this weirdly romantic, I would have snapped your neck right now" She sighed, and helped both of them back to their feet. I still find it odd that a woman with only one good leg was still strong enough to lift both of those morons to their feet. "Besides, what did you have to be jealous of, do you think I'd sleep with a guy wearing a sweater in Hoenn"

"Hey!"

"Charlie, you're many things, a man's man is not one of them" Lisa said. "I'm more of a man then both of you" Sadly, very true.

"Guy's" Michael said, "Not that I don't like this touchy-feebly crap, but I have a gym battle"

* * *

"Are you nervous?" Enfer asked. We were on the ferry that lead to the gym island in the middle of this stupid city. I shrugged.

"Why should I be?"

"This is it" Enfer said, her voice picking up, "Your final gym battle. I'm so proud of you!" God she sounded like an actual mother.

"I'm not" I said, "I'm nervous"

"About what?"

_Three weeks to go. I helped Shu, helped Bane, made peace with Michael, so how do I know_

"You don't wanna now" I said. I looked over our group. Me and Enfer took up an entire cushion. Louis, Lisa, and Michael sat on the left side of the boat, Michael looking at his Pokedex and reclining pokeballs to his belt. They kept falling off, and I don't care what he says, but that belt is defective.

"Angela, how long should I do this?" Flash asked. In one hand he held Pecha, and in the other he held Nel, and he was currently lifting them up in down.

"We need you strong, and since we lack dumb bells, you can lift Nel and fat ass"

"Pecha is not the ass that is fat. Pecha will rule you all. Resistance is futile! From now on you will service Pecha!" That sounded dirty.

"Angela, logically this will not help me with my electricity production abilities" He pointed out, "Most likely it would end up tiring me out. I could be incorrect though" Trish fluttered down beside me, and pecked me on the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For being a moron" Trish turned "Flash, you can rest"

"Thank you Madame Trish" A little giggle escaped the metal birds throat. Flash sat down beside Bane and Rush. Rush was asleep, and Bane was practicing Aura Sphere, something I was also forcing him to do. He wanted to practice the score to the H.M.S. Pinafore, I wanted him to train. Guess who got what they wanted.

Wisp and Shu were above them, on the other cushion. The two were talking, though about what I didn't know. L3 stood beside them, with Dex weaving a web around her (Titan and Sharon had to be in their balls). He seemed content, and I was a little envious.

The ferry docked and we headed off. I noticed that the building clearly had water flowing under it, meaning this was going to be fought on a completely water field. Yippy.

* * *

My thought on Wallace are the same as my thoughts on cancer, remove him. I don't like Wallace. I don't like that he was originally a trainer. I don't like that he took over as champion instead of Steven, king of Steel and awesome. I don't like that he dresses like the leader of the pride parade.

In this final gym battle, two of the starters are worthless. Blaziken gets creamed, Swampert is neutral. Sceptile shines though, being faster then Wallace, and able to do double (and quadruple in a few cases) damage.

Wallace took over for Juan, a trainer who I actually have respect for. I lost respect for Wallace when he and Winona got divorce, after he cheated on her with a young, male assistant. Juan sadly passed away a year prior to this because of a brain aneurysm. What a waste.

Unlike all of the other gyms, their was no receptionist. Just two doors, one for observers and one for trainers.

"Please enter!" A voice boomed over the intercom.

"We're already in!" Louis cried.

"Why have you come to challenge the experience that is Wallace?" I think we found Pecha's long lost twin.

"I need my eight badge" Michael said, "My name is Mich-"

"I don't care!" Wallace said, and I swear to God he took speaking lessons from William Shatner. "I am in a pleasant mood, and will allow you to challenge The Wallace!"

"Pecha like the cut of his jib" Pecha said, "Pecha must have The Wallace in the New Chu Order" Told you. The door's booth opened slowly.

"Please enter"

"Wish me luck" Michael said, sucking everyone back into their balls as we walked into the gym.

"Luck" Both of them said. We headed through the door, into the gym and a watery hell.

As soon as we stepped out, I was aware we were on a platform. A suddenly moving platform. Our platform was large, but their were six large platforms floating in the water. On the other side of the gym was...Oh God.

"Greetings trainer. I am The Wallace" Wallace said. Wallace was sitting on a throne with his name carved into it. He was holding a microphone, with six spot light on himself and two tapestry's with his face on them hanging beside him. Watching this was surreal.

"My name is Michael, I'm here...for...something"

"Are you amazed by the glory that is Wallace?" Wallace asked, ego blocking out the sun. Michael shrugged.

"Mystified may be a better term" Michael said. "Let's battle"

"Trainer may make the first move" Wallace said.

"In that case" Michael unclipped a pokeball, "Titan, you're up" Titan appeared on one of the platforms diagonal to us. He roared, and his weight almost knocked him off.

"...Where am I?" Titan asked.

"In that case" Wallace tossed out a pokeball, from which emerged a Wailord. The huge, huge Wailord almost took up the gym pool. "Water Pulse"

"Iron defense Titan, then rock throw" Titan pulled himself into a ball, as several rings of water shot out, striking his metal skin. Titan took almost immediate, but not severe, damage from this attack. He uncurled and proceeded to toss rocks he got from, somewhere.

"Aim for the blow hole!" Michael shouted. Titan attempted to toss a rock into the blow hole, but only ended up smashing rocks on the Wailords head. Gravel floated into the water, as Wailord went under.

"Bounce" Wallace ordered.

"Oh come on, how could something like that use that move?" I asked. Wailord leapt straight up, as Titan continued to toss rocks.

"Oh shit"

"Titan, jump!" Titan did, leapt as well as an eight hundred pound piece of tin could. He made it just in time to see Wailord smash into the platform, sending a wave of water out, and almost knocking Titan in. Both Michael and I were soaked all the way through.

"Great" I mumbled, spitting out water, "Just great" The platform emerged from the water, both halves of it. Wailord though didn't come up, and we couldn't see the thing. How the fuck couldn't we see it? It's the size of a zeppelin!

"Earthquake Titan" Michael commanded. Suddenly, the building began shaking, and even more waves occurred. Titan, Michael, and myself steadied ourselves on the platform as waves crashed over. For a brief moment, we could see Wailord in the water.

"There! Take down" Michael ordered.

"Again, bounce" Wallace commanded. As Titan leapt, so did Wailord. The force of the giant water-type drove Titan straight up, into the air. Since the ceiling was open, they had no danger of crashing into it, but things wouldn't end well.

"I'm not going that easy!" Titan snarled. He startled the Wailord, riding it like a Ponyta. He pulled another rock (where is he getting those? His ass?) this one pointed, and drove it into Wailords blowhole.

Wailord slammed into the water, and submerged its self and Titan. At first this seemed like bad news for Titan, except for one thing. For a Wailord, it's blow hole meant whether or not it had to completely emerge from water or only temporarily come up.

Wailord exploded up, taking a huge gasping breath. It couldn't head back under, Wailords when under water can experience great pressure in their skulls, and the blow hole helps regulate it. As Wailord panted, Wallace laughed.

"That was clever boy, very clever"

"Here's something else clever" Michael said, "A TM I taught Titan yesterday. Titan, thunder!" A thunder blot shot out of the sky, striking Titan, who acted like a lightning rod and electrified Wailord.

Wailord gasped, and slowly sunk into the ocean. Titan pulled himself onto the platform. He was panting heavily, barely able to breath himself. I couldn't imagine how much pain he was in right now, but it didn't matter. He did it. That's one down.

"Very good Wailord" Wallace pulled a fishing rod out of his ass, and tossed it out. It was only then I saw the pokeball on the end that recalled Wailord. My God, how can one person be made of so much ham?

"Now Whishcash, come now" Wallace said. He once again tossed the reel (why the hell did he need a reel?) and released a Whishcash in the ocean.

"If you had gotten a Treecko like I wanted, that Whishcash would be dead" I said. Michael kicked me lightly, to remind me not to be a smart ass.

"Titan, rock throw" Michael commanded. Even he knew Titan wasn't going to last, best to do what he could. Titan got two rocks to make contact, but Whishcash swam under the water. He began to circle the platform slowly, Titan's rocks doing nothing.

"Magnitude" Wallace ordered. Magnitude was a gamble of an attack, that could be a lot stronger or weaker then earthquake. Sadly, this case would be a lot stronger. Titan was thrown into the water, barely putting up a fight. He crashed like a meteor, and didn't come back up. Out cold. Shit.

"Thanks Titan" Michael said, recalling him into his ball. He looked down at me, smiling.

"What?"

"You're up"

"Oh no, you can't send me" Michael scooped me up.

"That's where you're wrong, I can" Michael tossed me at the platform Titan had just fallen off of. I tried digging my claws into him, but no luck.

"You'll burn in hell Luccelli" I cried as I hit the platform. The damn thing was so wet I almost slid off into the...ocean.

"Whishcash, aqua tail"

"Dodge it, then use Screech" Michael ordered. Whishcash lunged, attempting to sweep me into the ocean. I leapt, making sure he only got air, following it up by screeching as loud as I possibly could.

Whishcash dove under, and popped up behind me. Whishcash fired a mudbomb, and I turned just to see my vision turn brown. My claws came out, scratching the platform, but not falling into the water. I ran and leapt, onto the platform in front of me, landing in a cartwheel. I pushed up, just in time to see another aquatail above me, this one driving me into the platform.

It began to grind me into the platform, but part of Wishcash's underbelly could be seen. I fried a shadow ball, striking Whishcash where the sun don't shine.

Whishcash fell into the water, cutting through it like a knife. I got up, blood dribbling from a cut in my chin. Great, not done yet.

"Angela, psychic" A nice little ability. I fired off psychic energy, striking the still weakened Whishcash, followed by a dark pulse. As soon as that thing was ready to go again, it would kick my ass, so don't let it get ready. Wishcash's head emerged, and it was met by a shadow ball crushing its snout.

"Giga impact!" I leapt up, angling myself, and fired off like a champagne cork. I crashed into the weary Whishcash, driving it into the ocean. Using all of my skill, I leapt off his body before it went all the way under, landing on the platform and knocking out Whishcash.

"Oh God" I moaned. Whishcash was withdrawn by Wallace, once again with the stupid pole.

"Very good. Come now, Tentacruel" Oh boy.

The giant squid emerged on the field. It's head partially stuck out, red crystals shining in the sunlight.

` "Spray toxic spikes" Wallace ordered. Spikes slowly emerged from under Tentacruel (eww), and began to float around all the platforms. These spikes wouldn't dissolve in water (a nice little thing only people like Wallace would know), and would poison anyone going in. The spikes would eventually sink to the bottom, and float away, but until then, no one could go in.

"Angela, psychic" Michael ordered. I fired psychic energy off, only to see Tentacruel sink under the water. Oh shit.

The slab on which I stood suddenly began to hiss. I jumped back, just in time to see acid burn a hole in the platform. Four tentacles shot out, and grabbed me.

"NO!" I screamed, "No God please not the ocean!" I clawed, bit, fired attacks, but no use. My claws wore down to the quick, but it didn't matter. I was pulled down, down into the water, into the ocean into the...

I blacked out.


	116. The Last Badge II

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CVI: The Last Badge II**

I passed out before hitting the ocean water, so yeah I was out of the battle. Now, when I was knocked out, did I wake up in Michael's arms? Of course not, that would be to easy.

"Wake up Angela" An all-knowing voice said. I cracked my eyes open, to see Not Meowth.

"Oh go to hell" I growled.

"Nice to see you to" Not Meowth said, helping me stand up. Underneath me were several earth's, floating parallel to each other. "Do you know what the name for Eternity, Infinity, and Creation is? The name for the three areas as a whole?"

"No, what?"

"The Macroverse. A realm beyond time and matter, a realm made of pure thought and energy. It's as you know, a gateway to every dimension"

"Fascinating" I said, "What did you bring me here for?" Suddenly, the earth's were gone, and we were staring at a silver, splitting line. My time line, the entire time line until my death. I could see the line for my current life, all the choices I had made. Then I saw darkness. The line was still there I think, but it was black now.

"This is you in three weeks" Not Meowth said. "When the line of a reborn turns black, it means a major conflict in their life"

"Why? Why does it do that?"

"When black, a reborns guardian can not enter that moment in their charges life. This was done by the Primum Mobile, so that a Not Pokemon can not avert what ever conflict will occur"

"The Primum Mobile?"

"The first moved, the Ancient One, the...to hard to explain. The one who wrote our rules, and gave us our power more or less. Angela, I don't know what's going to happen, trying to enter that moment only tells me something about what it is"

"...What is it?"

"Doomsday" He said flatly, "Doomsday is coming. Unrelently, unstoppably, unbelievably, doomsday is coming. I can do nothing Angela, but you can. I don't know what day it is exactly"

"What can I do to stop it?" Now Not Meowth looked like he was on the verge of tears.

"I don't know. This time I can't help you, you have to help yourself. Christ, I've got the powers of a god, but I can do nothing" I sighed, and nuzzled him softly.

"You've done a lot" I said, "I don't mention it, but you've done a lot for me. You've been a good friend to me, I never mention that, but you've been a friend. A pain in the ass, but a friend none the less"

"Thanks" Not Meowth said, "I wish I could say I had known you thought that of me, but I didn't. I suspected, but I chose not to read your mind"

"I appreciate it. I-I have to go back. I hope the next time I see you, it won't be because I'm here permanently"

"I hope so also Angela" With that I found myself outside of infinity...

* * *

...And in Michael's arms. I was soaking wet, oh God the tentacles. I remember, pulling me, trying to drown me, from the void. Michael was also soaking wet, still dripping from what was no doubt him leaping into the ocean.

"I'm out?" I asked.

"Yeah"

"Whose up now?"

"The worlds strongest kip" Rush chirped happily, jumping out from behind Michael's leg. He kipped ecstatically again.

"I figured, better use him now" Michael said, "Don't worry, I've thought this through"

"No you haven't" I mumbled.

"Whatever, let's get started" Michael said, "Rush, mud bomb"

"Yes, let's" Wallace called out. "Tentacruel, supersonic" Tentacruel unleashed an unbelievable noise, that more or less melted my brain. God knows what it was doing to Rush. The only thing is, you have to focus a supersonic attack, it can easily miss. Rush jumped left, then right, before throwing up a mud bomb and hitting Tentacruel in the side of its stupid red head.

Tentacruel growled in pain, blood dribbling out of the red (Tentacruel blood is blue). Tentacruel attempted to grab Rush with its tentacles, but Rush avoided due to his size and quick movement.

"Giga drain" Wallace ordered. Tentacruel started to suck (no dirty imagery intended), but Rush avoided it.

"Brick break" Michael ordered. Rush leapt up, glowing white, and shot like a bullet out of a gun, hitting Tentacruel where it hurt the most. Tentacruel bounced into one of the platforms, but didn't waver.

Rush began to fall, with poison spikes all around. Seconds before impact, Rush fired a water gun, keeping himself airborne. Every time he got near the water, he kept himself up, the incredible bouncing kip. I laughed, I couldn't help it.

"Poison jab" Wallace ordered. A tentacle shot out, glowing purple, hitting Rush on the ass. Although not poisoned, he was thrown into the platform, skidding and scrapping himself raw.

"Don't worry Rush, you're still okay. Get up and use mudslap" Rush jumped, pivoting around, slinging mud as he did. Mud hit Tentacruel all over, blinding it temporarily, and slowing it down.

"Another mud bomb" For some reason Wallace had quit ordering attacks. Rush threw up another mud bomb (bigger then he was).

"Dive!" Wallace shouted. Tentacruel dropped beneath the water, the mudbomb sinking beneath the water. Tentacles emerged, eight around Rush, two more still to come. They all slung themselves at Rush, but he jumped up. He landed on one, two, three, jumping up onto them over and over again. Finally he stood on all eight, and Tentacruel smashed the platform.

Rush landed on one of the floating fragments, as Tentacruel's head emerged, It looked at Rush, growling.

"Mudslap"

Rush slapped a thick shot of mud (where is he getting it all?) hitting Tentacruel between the eyes. Tentacruel growled something, I think it was fuck, and he fell under the water, out cold.

"Very good Tentacruel" Wallace said, using his reel to recall is. I finally noticed his reel was solid gold, with his name carved on it. "Come on Gyarados" Gyarados appeared on the field, roaring.

Now, I don't like Gyarados. Why? Water/Flying-type is one of the worst type combinations of all time, with a double weakness to electricity, a worthless ground immunity, and even more worthless grass neutrality. Now, if it were Dragon/Water-type like one of my personal favorites (Kingdra, why the hell does no one use Kingdra?), I would recommend using it. My advice though is don't use Gyarados.

"Rush, use...rock tomb" Rush kipped, and rocks began falling near Gyarados. Gyarados flew up (with what wings?) avoiding rocks, and heading straight towards Rush. It head butted Rush, tossing him off the platform piece.

Rush skipped across the water like a rock, final slamming his back into one of the few still standing platforms. He sunk into the water, and didn't emerge, waiting for Gyarados to come down. Gyarados didn't oblige though.

"Thunder" Wallace ordered. Oh shit.

"Get out of the water!" Michael cried. To late though. The thunder bolt hit the water, electrifying it, electrifying Rush. Slowly, his limp little kip body emerged, floating up. Michael recalled Rush sadly, kissing his ball before reclipping it.

"Sharon, you're up" Probably the best move Michael could make. Gyarados could use ice beam, but all electric attacks were useless. Sharon emerged, yawning as she did. "Angela, do you notice Sharon seems less energetic? Less simple minded?"

"I didn't notice" I said, not mentioning Empress Sharon. Said Empress finally noticed Gyarados.

"Greetings Gyarados. I will be kicking your butt today" Something to be said for having her as an Empress.

"Sharon, sandstorm" Michael ordered. Sand began being slung through the air, emerging from where the mud had. Gyarados rushed at Sharon, only to have a wall of sand knock him back.

Sharon flew at him, claws glowing deep purple. She struck Gyarados on its back, digging them in deep. She then began to bite him repeatedly on his neck.

"Twister" Wallace ordered. Dragon energy was swirled around, inside the sand twister, striking Sharon repeatedly. This tossed Sharon off, hurting her but not by much (twister is one of the most useless attacks).

"Dragon claw again" Michael ordered, "Get a good grip Sharon" Sharon flew at Gyarados, whose fangs turned to ice. It tried to bite Sharon, and got the very edge of her tail. Sharon screamed in pain, and stabbed Gyarados under the chin, drawing blood. Gyarados got free, and flew onto the great water-fuck's back.

Sharon dug one set of claws in, as deep as they possibly could go. Gyarados shook and shook, kicking up another twister, but couldn't get her off. The twister cut into Sharon's scales, but she mustered through the pain.

"Now Sharon, stone edge" Michael shouted. Sharon pulled out a long, sharp rock, the end of Gyarados. She stabbed it deep into the back of its neck, causing Gyarados to fall out of the sky head first. It slammed into one of the (few) remaining platforms, taking itself under along with Sharon. Sharon emerged from the water, Gyarados did not.

"Return my Gyarados" Wallace said, doing a little dance move as he did. "Now, come on out my Ludicollo" Of course. Shit.

Ludicollo emerged, a hammy pokemon for a hammy gym leader. It looked at Sharon, and began to dance. ...Kay.

"Ludicollo, Ice beam"

"Sharon, avoid it and use ariel ace" Sharon flew and cut into Ludicollo, as it's ice beam caught her in the mid-section. Sharon didn't scream, but bit down on her bottom lip hard. She slammed what was left of her pointed rock into the side of Ludicollo's head, who responded by attempting to ice beam her wings.

Sharon flew up, avoiding it. She pulled the ice off her chest and threw it at Ludicollo, just proving that Empress Sharon is a bad ass.

"Dragon breath" Michael ordered, hoping to paralyze Ludicollo. Ludicollo ducked under the water, and the breath broke up on the water, purple flames dancing across it.

Ludicollo emerged behind Sharon and fired its ice beam again. This one struck Sharon's left wing. Suddenly, she was falling down, into the water and in front of Ludicollo. Ludicollo caught her, when Wallace ordered "Blizzard".

At point blank range, even Blizzard wouldn't miss. Sharon's head was quickly encased in ice, along with the rest of her body. All of the water around them suddenly dried up, becoming a swirling water spout around them. Ludicollo grabbed Sharon's frozen head, and smashed it into the ground once, twice, until the ice broke, until blood and water ran together. He kept smashing until Michael yelled "STOP!"

Sharon was withdrawn, and Michael stared at her ball for a moment. "You blew me away this time Sharon, you really did. I've never been so impressed" He reclipped her ball, and enlarged another, "Flash, you're up" Wait, what?

Okay, I don't want to question Michael, but he's an idiot. Bane was the logical choice, the better choice for this particular battle. Ludicollo are neutral to electricity, although the water could possibly amplify Flash, it could also short him out.

"Oh, this will be most enjoyable" Flash said as he appeared on one of the last two platforms (not counting mine and Wallace's).

"Bullet seed" Wallace ordered. Small seeds were rapidly fired out of Ludicollo's mouth, which Flash avoided by dropping down. Not exciting, but true.

"Thunder bolt Flash"

"Energy ball" Flash blasted electricity out of his body, into the water, lighting it up. A ball of green energy fired off from Ludicollo, hitting Flash in the chest and knocking him into the water. He emerged quickly, but falling in probably didn't help this battle.

"Focus blast" Wallace ordered.

"Signal beam" Flash fired off a trippy, some what confusing blast of energy at Ludicollo. Before he could use focus blast, it hit him, cutting him. Ludicollo let out a protest noise and then used surf.

A wave of water suddenly appeared behind Ludicollo, crashing down on both of them. Flash was tossed away like a rag doll, sent spiraling out of control. He finally stopped, but had been hurt.

"Thunder bolt!" Flash fired off a shot of sparks, but no bolt. Shit, the water had turned his fur into a giant electric blanket, the only thing he could electrify was himself. "Okay, in that case, thunder punch!"

"Mega drain" Flash rushed at Ludicollo, but the mega drain hit him, draining some of his energy. It didn't matter. Flash pulled back his paw, crackling with sparks, and crunched it into Ludicollo's face. Ludicollo fell over like a sack of cement, out cold.

"Good job in serving me" Wallace said, withdrawing Ludicollo. Then, to my less then surprise, Michael withdrew Flash.

"You've done good Flash, but you need to dry off. Bane, you're up"

"As are you. Give it up for my beautiful Elizabeth" Wallace clicked a button activating a wind machine (I can't believe I saw that), causing his cape to blow in the wind as he threw out his final pokeball. He pressed another button, causing some really bad ABBA esc music to play, and yet another, causing all the lights to turn into spot lights, focused on his Milotic as it appeared on the field.

Do you think that release of his Milotic was a little over the top? I don't.

"Bane, let's do this. ExtremeSpeed"

"Elizabeth, Aqua Tail" Bane suddenly vanished, the only signs of him the occasional foot print on the water. Elizabeth was grabbed, pulled out of the water, and struck repeatedly. Before Bane could escape though, Elizabeth's aquatail caught him between the legs. The two became visible, and fell into the water.

"Aura sphere"

"Hydro pump" Bane summoned a melon of purple energy, when he was hit in the chest by the hydro pump.

"No, I'm not falling" Bane dug his feet in, and was slowly pushed backwards. Slowly, his sphere grew to the size of a volley ball, and Bane slung it.

The sphere flew and struck Elizabeth in the side of the head. She flew foreword, attempting to head butt Bane. This proved to be a bad idea, when Elizabeth realized that Lucario have steel skin, and it isn't a good idea to ram them with your skull.

"Bone Rush" Bane clubbed Elizabeth on the back with a bone that he got from when Sharon got her rock. In response, Elizabeth cause a whirl pool, that dragged Bane off of the ground and straight up. Bane popped up out of the water for a brief moment, and was pulled back by Elizabeth.

"Water pulse" Wallace order. Elizabeth had bitten onto Bane's leg, and he attempted to metal claw his way free. She dragged him under one of the plat forms, and used water pulse to fire Bane through it.

"Thunder Punch" Michael ordered. Bane's paw crackled with electricity, he fell into the water, and somehow he missed. I'm not kidding.

"Hyper Beam" Wallace ordered. Bane crouched against the bottom of the pool and Elizabeth floated over him, preparing to strike.

"Sky uppercut!" Michael ordered. Bane fired himself off, hitting Elizabeth under the jaw and driving it up. Up, out of the water, higher then I thought they could go. "Now, high jump kick!" Still in the air, Bane struck Elizabeth in the side. It screamed, and the two began to fall. "Finally, bullet punch. Finish this" Bane punched Elizabeth, rapidly and hard. He drove Elizabeth down, into the water, riding her like a surfboard. They slammed into the water, sending it spraying.

Silence. The water was still, we saw nothing. Then...Bane exploded out, holding an unconscious Elizabeth over his head.

Wait, then this meant that Elizabeth was out cold, and Bane had won. We had won! We had eight badges!

Fuckin' A.


	117. Nor Battle The Strong

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXVII: Nor Battle The Strong**

Benny Barklay had been missing for three days when a video arrived at the Hoenn Pokemon League. The heads of the league had been expecting another letter, but weren't surprised when it arrived. They were surprised by what they saw when they played it.

"My name is Benny Barklay, and I do not deserve to live" Benny's first words when his face appeared on the screen. Barklay had been virtually skinned alive, bloody red tissue on his chest, face, legs, where skin had been. He was tied to a chair, the ropes tight and dyed red with blood. His left eye was gone, just a mass of bloody red pulp. His lips were cracked, dry, and his one eye was sunken in. Beyond that, it was to disturbing to say.

"You have not called (huh) off the Ever Grande Conference" Barklay continued, reading something off screen. "Because of this, we (huh) have been forced to take action. This is our final (huh) warning, call off the Ever Grande Conference or we (huh) will kill you all. This is the Pokemon Liberation Circle" Barklay coughed up a mouth full of blood on his chest. He turned to someone off screen.

"There, I've done what you've said" Barklay moaned, "You promised you'd let me go"

"I've promised a lot of things" A man's voice said. Suddenly, a dull whirring noise filled the air. "I lied"

"No!! Please God!" It was then they finally got to see why Barklay's skin had been turned into a bloody pulp.

They had tortured him with a power sander.

* * *

We had been able to get a boat ride out the very next day. I was happy to be going, not because I was in an hurry to be leaving Sootopolis, but because this was it. At long last this was it, we'd be going to Ever Grande.

_We're racing towards Doomsday, towards our own death._

"I'm not going to think about it" I mumbled. Only Enfer and I were out of our balls right now (which was easy since we didn't have any), and we were waiting in line for the boat.

"Guy's, I've been thinking" Louis said, as we stepped foreword.

"Oh great" Michael moaned. "What this time?"

"I think we shouldn't go to the Ever Grande Conference. I think instead we should just start the journey again, cause it's just to much fun"

"Have been drinking again?" Lisa asked.

"I dunno...What was I talking about?" Louis asked. I sighed, and we finally got to the boat, which wasn't really a boat. It was more like a submarine, that could climb up a waterfall if necessary.

"I'd have rather stayed in Sootopolis a few more days" Lisa said.

"Why? So you could hang out some more with sweater boy?" Louis asked, not hiding his visible rage.

"No! So I could help sweater boy, er, Charlie find his Mightyena. It somehow got out of the bathroom, and he was going to go looking for him" I gulped, maybe a little to loud, as I automatically got suspicious looks from Enfer.

"Angela? Something wrong?"

"N-Nope! Nothing wrong" Enfer clearly didn't believe me, but she let it go. We broke off Louis and Lisa, and Michael lead me to our room.

"Do you smell ass?" Michael asked, as we entered our room. Our room smelled like ass, like a prostitute had been here recently. Given the hotel rooms we usually stayed in, that's a possibility.

The entire room was turd brown, and the turd imagery was increased in my mind because we dove under water the moment we walked inside. Michael ended up tossed on top of me, crushing my little body. In times of distress, Umbreon spray poison...

Michael ended up in the infirmary, screaming about seeing through dimensions, and Rainstorm and Mosspath being different people. Everyone else in my party were still in their damn balls and left with Michael, but I was not. No pokemon allowed in the infirmary, so I got to spend the day with Louis and Lisa.

Yippee.

* * *

"Okay, I got a question" Louis said, "What's the biggest WTF line or moment from a kid's movie ever?"

"Follow you're heart, it'll lead you home" Lisa said, "It doesn't make a lick of sense, it comes right the fuck out of no where, and it doesn't mean anything. The dumb as a sack of hammers protagonist actually wanted to know how to get home"

"For me it's that scene in Princess Monoko" Louis said, "Is that how you say it? Well, after Prince Androgynous gets cursed by touching the over cooked spaghetti monster, he claims he's going to die. At one point in time he ends up in the village of shrill voiced morons, and is able to push their heavy wooden gate out of the way with super strength, that he got from the curse! We never got any proof the curse did anything but make him able to take bullets, and made him super strong, so why did he want to get rid off it?"

"Does that count as a kids movie?"

"I dunno, that's one of the big questions in life. Like if V is a guy or girl, or if Judith Anderson was a lesbian" Louis said. Oh the deep conversations these peons have. I sighed, couldn't focus on anything, worried about Michael. Enfer had offered me many soothing words, but right now I needed peace.

Then Nel bounded over, more or less throwing a brick threw my stain glass window of peace. She was trembling so much the air was vibrating.

"What do you want Nel?" I asked. With the exception of Enfer, only the small pokemon were out, due to the hallway being crowded. Nel had her ears and tail pinned as close to her body as possible.

"I want-to b-battle" Nel stammered.

"What?" I was so surprised that I stopped dead in my tracks, only to be stepped on by some asshole in polished shoes. I coughed, my ribs being crushed into my chest.

"Angela!" Two voices called out. Suddenly polished asshole was off of me, and I turned to see Enfer on his chest, and Trish pecking his head. This finally got Louis and Lisa's attention, and the attention of several others in the hall.

"Uh, sorry about that" Louis said, grabbing Trish as she began to pull out shiny shoes hair. "We will handle this as we handle every problem" With that, we took off running as fast as our coward legs could carry us (damn Lisa did good for someone with one leg).

We made it to the bow of the ship, or the stern, I don't remember or care which is which. It was a large open area with food stands, shops, and a few small mini-arena's for pokemon battles. We finally stopped against a wall, Louis and Lisa panting heavily. I finally stopped panting, and looked at Nel.

"You wanna battle?" I asked.

"I-I do. Daddy Flash says I have to be brave" Nel said, "So I figure the best way is to-to meet an enemy in combat"

"Nel wants to battle! Speak more to the Chu" We both sighed, and turned to see Pecha.

"Pecha, I swear if you" Pecha came over and hugged Nel. "...Wah?"

"Pecha's best friend wants to be brave!" Pecha proclaimed, "Pecha is so happy! How can the Chu help?" I think my head exploded at that moment, because Pecha wanted to do something...selfless. Astonishing.

"Okay, now we just have to get Louis and Lisa to help us" A new voice said. I turned, to see Trish hovering about an inch behind me. Screaming, I leapt a foot in the air.

"HOW DID YOU DO THAT!?"

"Flash taught me" Trish said, "It's no more surprising then Enfer whose right behind you"

"Enfer's not behind" I flipped, and where Pecha and Trish had been, now Enfer was. I screamed again.

"You want to help Nel? I think it's sweet" Enfer said.

"Glad to hear it. How do we get Louis and Lisa to realize this little fact?" I asked. Before Enfer could speak, I walked over and headbutted Louis in the ankle.

"Shit! Angel?" He looked down at me, and I began speaking, forgetting only Michael could hear me.

"Umbre umbreon eon re umbre" I stated. Louis stared at me for a moment.

"Lisa I think this is your territory" He said.

"Dumb ass, you tell me Angel" Lisa said. I explained, Lisa stared at me, then turned to Shu. "Okay, Michael can understand Angela and she's reborn, he says Shu is, so if I focus really hard, I should be able to understand Shu!"

"Why have we not killed both of them yet?" I asked.

"Lisa reminds me of my sister, but blonder. Louis...I dunno, humor?" Shu asked.

"I figure we can get Nel in a battle this way" Trish said.

"How?" Trish bite onto Nel's tail, and before Nel could get away, lifted her off the ground. We followed the micro Skarmory as she flew over one of the battle arena's where a fat boy with a faux hawk was standing in the middle of a circle.

"Come on, who will challenge Wesley and give him his 100th win of the day?" Faux-hawk asked the crowd. "Anyone? Anyone at all? Defeat Wesley, win a prize!"

"This'll do" Trish said, before dropping Nel into the ring. We made it just in time to see Nel hit the ground, trembling and crying.

"Whose Skitty is this?" Wesley asked, "Hurry! Answer me! I need to add more hair gel, my hair doesn't look stupid enough!" Okay, he didn't say that last part, but he should have.

"It's mine" Louis said. "We'll take her and"

"No no no no" Ugly hair said, "You have to battle me, or pay me ten grand. Your choice"

"Since Nel has never battled, Louis will do the smart thing" Lisa said, "Right Lou?"

"Right. I except your challenge" Louis said, "Never gets between me and my wallet and Nel!" Lisa swung at Louis with her cane, but he grabbed it. "Now show me your pokemon"

"Come out my champion!" Wesley said. Suddenly, a blob appeared on the field. I do mean a blob. It was purple with darker purple stripes, no limbs, just a blob of poison.

"Muuuuk!" Oh God.

"I've change my mind!" Nel cried.

"Champion, use Sludge bomb" Muk threw up a giant blast of nasty smelling purple poison. Nel shrieked and jumped back, doing a back flip in the process. On speck of poison landed on Nel's leg, and I swear she almost passed out.

"Nel, use..." Louis paused, "What attacks do Skitty have?"

"Nel, use double slap, let's start with that" Lisa said. Nel stood up on her hind legs and started to slap the pile of goo (impressive given that Nel doesn't have wrists). Muk though, surprisingly, was unaffected.

"Fling" Queer hair shouted. Muk grabbed Nel by her chest, and tossed her straight up into the air. Nel went up, but didn't hit the ceiling. She did however come down to the hard ground.

"Double edge" Lisa ordered, one of Nel's probably two offensive attacks. Nel ran and crashed into the giant hunk of goo, with all the force of a twenty pound ball of fur. Muk pulled up its two foot thick arm, and began to hammer Nel into the ground like a soft peg.

"Heal bell" Lisa ordered. Nel pulled herself out from the not hurt Muk, and began making a noise like a bell ringing. Nel got herself fully healed, only to have a huge sludge bomb explode on her, smacking her into the ground.

"Another sludge bomb" Muk shot off another beach ball sized piece of purple shit, which Nel managed to avoid by running straight at Muk, attempting to head butt him. She leapt, hit him as hard as she could, doing not a damn thing.

"Nel, use captivate!" Nel looked at Lisa and shrugged, not knowing the fucking attack. Muk grabbed her tail and slung her back and forth, back and forth, smacking the ground and bruising our now brave little Skitty.

"Acid" Faux brain ordered.

"Can Muk even learn that?"

"Better question, is it a safe idea to burn a hole through the hull of a ship?" Muk of course can't learn poison, so Muk did nothing, allowing Nel to pull free.

"Safeguard!"

"Toxic" Muk spewed poison gas at Nel, who glowed a bright white a moment before it hit Nel. Nel came out of it unharmed, and ran to tackle Muk, because it worked so well the first eight times.

"Fire punch" Fugly ordered. Muk's limb ignited in flames, and it slammed it into Nel's chest. Nel's lungs almost burst out her throat, as her eyes popped out. Nel bit onto Muk's goo body with her tiny fangs. Surprisingly, biting into the toxic jello did little to nothing to it.

"Return" Lisa commanded. Nel shot a worried look at us, and shrugged. "Sigh, of course not" Muk tossed Nel up, and started shooting blasts of sludge at her, juggling her in the air.

"Nel sing!" Lisa ordered. Nel began to make the most beautiful noise I ever heard, so beautiful I began to fall asleep. Luckily I stayed awake. Muk however, went limp. "That bought me some time, but I'm still not sure what to do"

"I know!" Louis piped up.

"Louis, I'm a former champion, you're a former pot head, leave it to the pros"

"Dig" Louis ordered. Nel dug through the dirt that all ships keep in their floor, and popped out under Muk. Muk was sent flying up, and hit the ground, knocked out in one hit. Lisa stared, mouth agape. "Would you like a scoop of irony with your humble pie?"

"Y-you fucker!" Lord of the bad hair cut whined, "I was going to have my 100th win!"

"What ever dick, give me my prize" Prissy McDumb Shit pulled a white rock out of one of his pockets. Rather then give it at Louis, he winged it at Nel, smacking her in the side of the head.

Nel began to glow white.

* * *

Tagger melted the body of Barklay in acid. Easy enough to get hold of when you're a man with his connections. He went back to his supplies, checking over everything. Three bombs with magnetic tape and garage remote triggers, check. 250 rounds of armor piercing bullets (guarantied to pierce a Shuckle), check. Snipers rifle. Check. Duck tape, check. Police band scanner, check.

"This will be most fun" Tagger said, placing all of these things in a green duffel bag. In a week he would be in Ever Grande, and then the fun would really begin.


	118. The Evil Men Do

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXVIII: The Evil That Men Do**

"I'm all purple" Nel giggled. She kept staring at herself at the full length mirror, twirling her larger body. "I'm purple" Nel bared her teeth, then screamed, before passing out cold.

"Nice to see some things don't change" I mumbled. It was a few hours later, Michael was still sick, and we were back with Louis and Lisa. We would be at Ever Grande in two and a half days, half way through our five day journey.

I was on Louis's bed, with lying on Enfer. Her body was burning hot, and making me sweat through my fur, but oddly I didn't mind it. When your Umbreon, most of your day's are spent sleeping (which was usually what I was doing between the stories I tell you my dear listener). I wasn't tired today, no sun light, no exhaustion.

Wisp was sad without Rush, currently laying against Shu's side. Shu was mumbling something in his sleep, couldn't make out just what he was mumbling. Occasionally he kicked the air, and once kicked Wisp upside the head. She responded by lightening his belly on fire.

Pecha had been by Nel's side since she evolved. I'd never noticed before, but Nel was probably Pecha's closest friend, even though Pecha rode her.

"I'm bored" Trish said. I turned, to find her hovering almost an inch beside my face. "So very bored"

"Why don't you go pester Louis and Lisa?" I asked.

"They're visiting Michael. I tried to talk to L3, who swatted me, and Streak, who began comparing life to a coffee can. So I came to complain to you"

"Well complain later" I said. I closed my eyes, only to find myself being pulled off Enfer by my giant ear. "Ow! Ow ow ow ow ow"

"Boy you're heavy" Trish mumbled, "How did you get so heavy?"

"Oh I dunno, had a little evolution" I said, "Let me go!" Trish nodded, and dumped me back onto Enfer. I climbed over to her, and over to the still smoking Shu and Wisp. Trish flapped behind me, landing on my head.

"Why did you light me on fire?" Shu asked.

"Don't kick me in the head" Wisp said, "You'll find yourself much more crispy. Also, you were having a very deep conversation with yourself in your sleep. What exactly were you talking about?" Shu started to open her mouth, but closed it quickly.

"Move out of the way, the Chu comes this way" We all moved as Nel and Pecha leapt onto the bed, Pecha sinking into the mattress. "Help the Chu out, or the New Chu Order will destroy you all! All will perish! Rush will love me! New Chu Order!" I bit onto her head, and pulled her out of the mattress (she came free with a noticeable pop!).

"Why should we help you if you always say you'll kill us all?" I asked.

"Silence cursing Eeveon!" Pecha ranted. "Pecha demands entertainment!" I tried to kick Pecha off the bed, but ended up falling off and on my head. I got back up quickly ready to hear why Shu was raving.

"Why were you talking in your sleep Shu?" I asked. Shu nervously looked at all of us, including Streak who had appeared behind him.

"I promised to tell you" Shu said. "I was talking about Darrius. More specifically what happened with him the second time I met him"

* * *

My pack lived in the forests of Hoenn, never in the same place, constantly moving. I loved every minute of it, every minute with all of my pack mates. Now I know what you're thinking, why would a pack of Mightyena accept a reborn human as a Pochyena?

They wouldn't. At least, at first they didn't. They wanted me kicked out of the pack, except one problem. My mother was our alpha's mate. Alpha may have been my father, I'm not sure it was never defined.

I don't care though, I was happy. I remember the last day I was happy in fact.

Alpha was teaching me how to hunt. When a Mightyena pack hunts, three males go out, the Alpha and two beta's. If they are teaching a pup to hunt, they teach one at a time. I was out there with Alpha, Shadow, and Darkclaw.

"This is so exciting" I giggled.

"Silence" Alpha growled. "You need to be quiet. Your pray could escape if you make any noise" I'd have pointed out that talking would also alert your prey to your location, but I was to excited to care.

In front of us were two Stanler. Why the hell were their Stanler in Hoenn? Who knows, and who cares! Alpha, Shadow, and Darkclaw crept up, Alpha in front and the other two from the sides.

Alpha lunged at the first Stanler, biting into its throat before it had a chance to react. The second turned, only to have Darkclaw leap onto it's back, biting it. Both were dead in less then thirty seconds.

"Wow" I mumbled. Shadow looked at me and grinned.

"Pretty impressive huh? I bet it's much more impresive then anything you saw as a hew-mon" I nodded in silent agreement.

"We can stroke our own cocks later" Darkclaw said, "Let's get this meat back to the pack. Shu, you want to hunt with us? Help pull your own weight" I grabbed onto one of the legs of the dead Stanler, and helped Alpha pull it, barely moving it.

Currently we were located in a meadow, with thick trees all around us. Now I had been practicing my engineering skills, and had set up several traps around the meadow. Alpha allowed it, on the condition I left it so we could get in and out.

When we arrived, all of our females and delta's came out, to help us ration the food. Our pack was only fourteen Mightyena, and four Pochyena, counting me. The other three Pochyena I didn't talk to, because their parents didn't allow them to talk to me. I think they were scared I'd get the human on them.

"Shu, are you alright?" My mother cried, rushing out to see me. She pinned me down, and started licking me.

"Snow, Shu is my offspring to" Alpha said, "Must you"

"Yes I must" Momma said, "Go fix the meat" Alpha sighed, and lead Shadow and Darkclaw off. Momma continued to lick the blood off my muzzle, despite my protests.

A fire was started, and the meat cooked until it was edible (eating raw meat doesn't give you as much energy as cooked for a Mightyena). Pochyena were given bigger pieces in the hope it would help them evolve. Instead this often lead to me being given a piece of meat a little bigger then me.

As a human, eating over cooked meat off the dirt with out my hands would have disgusted me, even living under my house. Now though, I had embraced my Pochyena self, ignoring the dirt or eating it to.

After awhile we had finished eating, the fire had gone out, and many of the others were still asleep. It was warm, cloudless, with a lonely moon and pale stars. I was still awake though, nestled against my mother. She apparently noticed this.

"Shu? Whas the matter?" She mumbled, half asleep.

"I-I like this" I said, "The hunting, the moving from place to place, being with Alpha. I like living like this"

"What is wrong with that?" Momma asked me.

"Y-you know I was human momma. It, it didn't end well for anyone with my human family. Is it wrong for me to be happy?"

"Of course not!" Momma protested, "Don't say anything so stupid. Shu, you told me about what happened, and you know what I thought?"

"What?" I asked.

"I was happy, happy that you were no longer there, but with me. You were my gift from Arceus Shu. It's not a sin to be happy Shu, it's a sin to be unhappy, especially in light of what your hew-mon family had happen to them. They would want you to be happy"

"How do you know?"

"I just do" She smiled, "Mom's are smart like that" That they are. I smiled, and fell asleep against her side.

* * *

Three days later we were hunting once again, all four of us a second time. I had spent the morning setting up a spear trap with a trip wire, and thus was tired that morning. Alpha didn't take that as an answer though, so I was of course out and helping them hunt.

"You need to stop spending your time setting up elaborate traps" Alpha said.

"It helps me train my mind" I protested.

"So does hunting, which you need energy for. Focus Shu, tell me what you smell, what do you hear" I took in a deep breath, my lungs filling with the scents of the surrounding area. I could see in my mind trees all around me, weeds, flowers, wet leaves, and a Ursaring.

Wait, what?

"Ursaring!" I cried out. Alpha and Darkclaw flipped around, to see a Ursaring charge. Alpha leapt, clawing it in the face, but Ursaring knocked him so hard back he hit a tree.

Darkclaw fired a dark pulse at the Ursaring, hitting it in the leg. Ursaring screamed, and furry swiped at Darkclaw, who rushed back. The Ursaring did however hit Shadow.

"Gah!" The Ursaring's claws pierced Shadow's back, and it lifted him of the ground. It then headbutted Shadow, and with a wet crack, Shadow's neck broke. My throat practically closed, as Shadow fell to the ground. Ursaring turned it's attention to me, prepared to strike.

Thump.

Ursaring froze, mouth gaping open. Smoke began to poor out of its mouth, as it hit the ground, a hole in the back of the head. Behind him stood Alpha, panting heavily, having killed the Ursaring with a single hyper beam.

"We've got an injury!" I cried. We ran back to where our pack was, Shadow on Darkclaw's back. "We need help"

We sat Shadow in the center, as all of the others gathered around. Ashe, one of the females who specialized in healing, came over to Shadow to look at him.

"We need to get water to him to clean his wounds, then" Ashe paused, "He's breathing"

"What?"

"I thought you said Shadow was dead" Ashe rolled Shadow onto his stomach. "T-these wounds are only flesh wounds"

"How is that possible?" Alpha asked.

"I don't know" Ashe said, "But he's waking up. Look!" Shadow yawned, and slowly pushed himself up He shook himself rapidly, then blinked.

"Four legs? That's fucking different" He looked at himself slowly. "This is everything she promised. This is" He then noticed all of us. "Greetings you grinning bunch of fuckers"

Shadow made eye contact with me, and that's when I saw him. Not Shadow, not the wise cracking asshole I remembered. No, I saw Darrius, on his knees, begging for something. Suddenly, the left side of his face exploded, gray matter spraying behind him.

"Him" I growled.

"You" Darrius said, smiling.

"I'll fucking kill you!" I screamed, leaping at him. I started to bite and scratch him in the face, only to have Alpha pull me off.

"Have you lost your mind?" Alpha cried out, "What are you doing?"

"That isn't Shadow!" I screamed, "He's a fucking murderer"

"What are you talking about?"

"His name is Darrius" I snarled, "He's the murderer of my mother, my human mother"

"Shut up you little bastard" Darrius shouted. "I want that little bastard hung up by his entrails" Alpha looked over at Darrius, down at me, and winked.

"Well the duty of the alpha is to take revenge on whoever they want" Alpha said, "Since as the alpha, they'd be above the law"

"Yeah, I'm above the law" Darrius said. He turned to Ashe, "Kill that fucking dog"

"Only problem is that you're not the Alpha, I am" Alpha said, "Funny thing is, Shadow would have known that. Who are you, and how'd you get in Shadow's body?" Darrius blinked, attempted to laugh it off, and leapt at Alpha.

Alpha bit Darrius, going for the ear. Darrius head butted Alpha, knocking him back. Alpha growled, and fired a dark pulse at Darrius, trying to hit him in the belly.

Darrius responded, by clawing Alpha in the eye. Alpha screamed, flipping off of Darrius. I knew then what was going to happen, why it would happen. Because Alpha obeyed the rules of combat, but Darrius fought dirty. Darrius's mouth crackled with energy, and a hyper beam exploded from his mouth, catching Alpha upside the head. Alpha hit the ground, dead.

Alpha was made the Alpha of our pack by defeating the last in combat, what Darrius had just done. Darrius, was now our Alpha.

"No" Momma cried. "Nooooo"

"Shut up" Darrius snarled. He leapt, and bit Momma in the throat. Momma's eyes went wide, and she fell beside Alpha. Again, a second time he had done this, a second time he had killed my mother.

"Not again" I whispered.

"What?"

"Not again!" I screamed, running at Darrius. I leapt, claws extended, and cut deep into Darrius. Through his left eye.

"Gah!" Darrius screamed, trying to get to his eye, but discovering he lacked the wrists. "Kill him! Kill the fucker" All of the members of my pack looked at Darrius, then at me. They slowly started to advance on me.

"What are you guys doing!?" I cried.

"Obeying the Alpha" Darkclaw said. "Attack!"

I ran. Faster then I even had before, so fast that my heart began to pop. Through the meadow, into the woods, over a tree, over a trap, the sounds of paws behind me. I leapt over a small incline, only to see a log behind me, and open log. Pokemon coming, final attempt.

I jumped into the log, pressing my little body against the dirt wall. From where I sat, I could see several Mightyena and Poochyena running foreword, trying to catch my scent. Their was heavy wind, obscuring my scent.

After a moment, they were all gone, and things were quiet again. Slowly, I walked out, scanning the area. No pokemon. I turned, and ran back to the meadow.

I had made it some distance, through a thorn bush, so close I could see the meadow. From there I would head...I dunno.

"Shu stop" A familiar voice. I froze, and flipped around, to see Shadow advancing on me. "I don't want to hurt you"

"Then why are you doing it!?" I cried out. Shadow took another step.

"Because I have no choice" Shadow said, "I am loyal to the Alpha"

"Shadow stop" He continued his approach. "Shadow, if you take one more step, I will kill you"

"Shu, this is sad" Shadow said, "You've got nothing to threaten me with, give it up" Shadow took one last step, breaking the vine I had as a trip wire. A wooden spear shot out, striking Shadow in the side of the head. Blood dribbled out of his nose and mouth, as he died..

"I'm truly sorry" I whispered. With that I turned and ran.

* * *

"That was the other worst day of my life" Shu said. "I became a vegetarian that day, unwilling to see any more blood. I just, I couldn't" Wisp licked Shu across the muzzle. He smiled at her, then started sobbing.

None of said anything, we just stood there, united by our pasts. We were stronger because of them, a family because of them. I knew then that that it would be enough.


	119. The Gift of Life

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXIX: The Gift Of Life**

Ever Grande can't just be on an island. Fuck no. It has to be on top of a fucking waterfall, which you can only reach on a water pokemon who knows surf, or in a boat like mine. How does it get to the top?

"When is it going to stop spinning?" I cried out.

"The spinning is the only way to get to the top of the waterfall" Michael said, teeth gritted. Michael was out of the sickbay, and it was five days until doomsday. I still had yet to tell anyone about that, about me dying. I also had yet to calculate, and realize seven months would occur two days after doomsday.

"I think it's stopping" Michael said, loosening his grip on me, "Yeah, it's slowing, it's" It stopped so quick I was flung out of Michael's grips, into a wall.

* * *

Ever Grande originally had a long, confusing cave called Victory Road that lead to the Conference Buildings. That was demolished and made into a parking lot, which only later did they realize was a stupid idea since you can't drive a car up a waterfall.

"I always wondered why Johto never constructed a Victory Parking Lot" Lisa said, "I hate Victory Road, parking lot is the way to go" We were just a small group of people and pokemon in a huge crowd. Since all pokemon were supposed to be in balls for registration, unless they didn't have a ball, me and Enfer were the only ones out.

"This is it" I said, "I'd piss my self from anxiety, but I'm to nervous"  
"...I don't know what that means" Enfer laughed, "But I'm pretty sure it's a good thing I don't"

"It definitely is" I growled. "I don't, I don't know what this means. Before this, their was always another gym, another badge, another challenge, another town or route to travel. Now though, their is nothing. Only Ever Grande. Then what?"

"Then we have the future" Enfer said, "You've got Michael, and me. I won't let anything happen to you Angela" I laughed nervously.

"Yeah, sure" I mumbled. "Thank goodness, we're here" The conference building is a huge square building, with five arenas, four in the corners, and one in the center. The four corner arenas would be used today and the next two days, to decide who would go to the finals. They were theme arenas, based on the first four types discovered, fire, water, grass, and earth.

The line for registration for the pre-semi-final tournaments it was stretching around the huge arena, starting and ending at the front door. We walked past it, into the giant conference hall.

The hall was marble, cool despite all of the people mulling about, with TV's mounted on every wall, and hanging posters of former champions. We walked past the amazingly long line, down to the end of the hall, where their were two entrances. One was in front of a computer bank, where you could talk to a woman, register your pokemon, and be given a place in one of the four tournaments.

The other had a slot to place eight badges, that allowed you into the semi-finals. It allowed you to skip the huge tournaments, and be one of the eight people in the semi-finals.

Yeah, on average three people a year got all eight badges. To get into the semi-finals, you won a tournament, got a wild card spot (all of the second place finishers battle for the one remaining spot), or one all eight badges.

"Please insert all eight badges now" a robotic voice chirped as we moved through the metal detector. A small slot opened, and Michael dropped all eight badges in. "Processing, eight badges approved, please insert your pokedex"

"Michael still has the damn thing?" Louis asked. A small hole appeared in the metal wall. Michael inserted his pokedex, and it dinged.

"Congratulations Michael Luccelli of Littleroot" The voice chirped, "Welcome to the Ever Grande Conference"

* * *

Ever Grande was bellow Tagger, as he lay on the back of his Skarmory. People were mulling about, all ants to Tagger. He'd crush them all, grinding them under his boots.

"Before you do that" A familiar voice said, "I think you'd like to hear what I know"

"What do you want?" Tagger asked, as Not Milotic appeared beside him. She laughed slowly.

"Tagger, you and I have had our differences" Not Milotic said, "But none the less it's time I let you know. My opposite number has someone working for them, a girl. In three days I will show you to her, and in five days you will disable her"

"Why are you letting me know this?" Tagger asked.

"Because I know what you're planning" Not Milotic said, "So many will die, won't they? I want to help you"

"You can help me by leaving me alone" Tagger growled.

"I will Jerome, I will" Not Milotic said, "But I will be watching" With that, Not Milotic vanished.

* * *

"Boy their is a lot of security" Michael said. Understatement of the century. Their were guards every where, against the walls, posted at door ways, on the second and third floors, all watching. It was irrelevant, we were in.

Michael had a room key, as did Louis and Lisa. Right now we were looking for the other two people who had gotten in by winning badges. We had been told their were two, one from Littleroot and one from Lavaridge. Sadly, I'm sure I knew who the one from Littleroot was.

"I say we go watch one of the tournaments" Lisa said, "They're all one-on-one battles, they last 15 minutes each, their are over 200 of them, it's a fun way to eat up three days"

"You guys go on ahead" Michael said. "I need to stay here for awhile"

"Why?" We were in the grand hall, were the opening and closing ceremonies would occur. In front of us was a one hundred foot jumbo-tron, with all four tournament grids displayed on it. Slowly, names would be erased, but it was still a three day affair. The tournaments didn't actually start for another two hours, when registration ended. Currently, trainers were allowed to have practice battles on the four fields.

"Just go" Michael said. The two shrugged, and headed off, Enfer taken with them. Their were chairs and tables set up for people, and Michael sat down at one, staring at the table.

"They decide the first semi-final battle before the tournaments begin" Michael said, "It's between two badge earning trainers. They always try to eliminate the badge winners from the finals, and badge winners always win the tournament. I've got a two in three chance of being in the first battle of the semi-finals"

"Isn't it exciting?" I asked.

"It would be, if I didn't want to throw up" Michael said.

"You only want to?" I asked, "I think I already did" Michael sighed, and started stroking me behind the ears.

Then a teenage boy dressed like a pirate, with a Blaziken walking behind him sat down beside us. I'm not kidding, nor am I stoned. The boy was about Michael's age, had brown curly hair, and was dressed like a pirate. His Blaziken I could only see from the back side.

"Can I help you?" Michael asked, "Help you find your buried treasure perhaps?"

"No Mr. Luccelli you can't" He said, speaking with a British accent that I think was fake, but I'm not sure. "I just wished to meet the man whose arse (definitely fake) I may be kicking tomorrow. Or the man who may be kicking mine" He smiled. "You may call me Yag"

"Yag?" I cried, "Who the fuck is named Yag?"

"It means hunt" Blaziken growled, turning to face me, "And you can be more" Our eyes connected and I saw...

...A scene like a film strip. A boy, no an eighteen year old. Pole-vaulting, why was he pole-vaulting? His pole jostled as he leapt, and sent him side ways. He hit the ground hard, and his neck snapped.

"You're a reborn" We said in unison.

"Why are you dressed like a pirate?" Michael asked. "All you're missing is an eye patch and peg leg"

"Let's talk Mr. Luccelli, let's talk about battles, and people who win battles, and people who loose battles"

"What a ham" I said, "Is this guy really your trainer?" I asked. Blaziken laughed slowly.

"Not only is he my trainer" Blaziken said, "But him being here is the only thing keeping me from smacking you silly"

"Nice to meet you, my name's Angela" I said, hopping off of Michael and moving over to him. "What's with all the hate?"

"I saw you, you killed yourself" Blaziken said. "You willingly threw your life away like old gum"

"I know" I said.

"And another thing...Wait, what?"

"I know full well what I did was wrong. I've spent fourteen months thinking about it" I said. "I've repented, and I've earned my new life" Blaziken paused, mouth open, and sat down beside me.

"It took me one second to write out a big, long speech about suicide in my head when I first saw you" Blaziken said, "I almost feel bad it's going to waste"

"Yeah, well life is full of surprises" I said. Blaziken laughed.

"That's true" Blaziken said. "Well, since I'm done being a dick, I might as well give my name. It is, or was, Richard"

"Nice to meet you Richard, I was Angela" I said. "I died, boy has it been a long time. Almost fourteen months"

"You know, in the cosmic sense" Richard said, "That really isn't a drop of water in a canyon of time"

"Oh, I know" I said, "But it feels like it. Question, if you had the chance to become human, would you?"

"You need to ask. Absolutely, no question about it. I died doing one of the things I loved, but if I got the chance, I'd undo it in a heartbeat"

"Pole-vaulting was one of the things you loved to do?"

"I had a lot of money, and a lot of interests. If I had to choose my death, it would have been doing that, skydiving, or drag racing" Richard said. I stared at him, mouth agape.

"...Could I trade lives with you?"

"Would it matter? I don't have money any more, and I wouldn't want it again. When you come from a family that has money, things are expected of you"

"What kind of things?"

"Well, you're expected to only enjoy special activities, that normal people can't afford. You're supposed to wear a suit anywhere you go, no matter what temperature. You're supposed to live a life so boring, watching grass grow is more fun in comparison. Strangely I was satisfied with all of this when I was human"

"I know" I said, "You think your life is going the way you want it to go, and then you die. Then when you're dead, you see your life from the outside"

"It's never the same when you're on the outside looking in" He said. "I wish I could go back in time, and change things. Made my life about something"

"You may not want that" I said, "and if a magical, reality warping, gender bending sea serpent offers you the chance, just say no"

"...What?"

"Just my own personal experience, never mind" I looked back up at the giant tournament brackets that were slowly filling in. "So, your trainer won all eight badges?"

"You can call him by his first name you know"

"No I can't. I can't in good conscience call a someone Yag" I said, "I'd have to kill myself again"

"It gets easier to call him Yag over time, trust me" Richard said, "And yeah, we won all eight badges. Before you ask, no I have no idea why he dresses like a pirate. Frankly, he dresses like a pirate drag queen if you ask me"

"I thought he was wearing a skirt!"

"Yeah, he doesn't tell me things like why he's wearing the skirt, the pirate motif, why he's only willing to eat yellow things, I don't learn stuff like that. As Yag stated, a pokemons place is on the battle field. Despite many flaming punches to the nads, he still believes this"

"He sounds like an asshole" I said, "How did you know him when you were human"

"I didn't" Richard said. "I'd never met him before in my entire life. When I died, I was reborn as his pokemon, and that was the first time we met"

"...Really?" I asked, "That's bizarre"

"Why is that?"

"I was reborn as the starter of my best friend" I said, "Now Enfer my...friend was reborn to a total stranger also, I think"

"You think?"

"She mentioned the name of who owned her when she was reborn once, and I can't remember. Jerry something" I paused, "Rich, when we die in this life, what happens?"

"...I don't know. I assume we go onto whatever is on the other side. As for whatever is on the other side, you can ask someone else. I've got no idea"

"What if you knew you were going to die a second time?" I asked, "What would you do then?"

"Die again? Jeez, I dunno. Something probably. I could tell Yag, but it's not like he'd understand me. When I was reborn, I was told by...someone that if I could get Yag to realize who I was, that I was once human, he'd understand me"

"Someone? Tell me, was it a pokemon who could freeze time, warp reality, act like an asshole"

"You've met an anti-pokemon?"

"I call mine a not-pokemon, but I believe the concept is the same" I said, "Mine's Not Meowth, whose yours"

"Not Exeggutor" Richard said, "And believe me, listening to all of his heads talking at once can really be a pain in the ass"

"Come on Balthizar" Yag the gay pirate said, "It's time for us to leave the competition" I stared at him, eye-ridge raised.

"Balthizar?"

"Don't ask" Richard said, as Yag dragged him away. I leapt up onto Michael's lap, and he began stroking me.

"So, what did we learn from Yag?"

"Just that being a pirate is not a viable career choice" I nodded slowly.

"I'm dying" Michael's hand froze.

"What?"

Ding-Ding-Ding.

"Ladies and gentlemen, registration for the Ever Grande Conference has ended. The four tournaments to decide who will take one of the five open spots in the semi-finals will begin shortly. The first battle of the semi-finals has been decided, please turn your attention to the nearest TV screen"

The jumbo-tron turned to one big bracket, with eight slots, three filled. The slot with Yag on it had him currently against no one. Michael and me were battling someone though.

"No way" Michael mumbled.

"We knew it would happen some time" I said.

The person we would battle against was Robin.


	120. Michael vs Robin I

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXX: Michael vs. Robin I**

"Robin...death" Michael chanted.

"Yeah, I know, it's hard to put your mind around" I said, "Frankly, I've had months to think about it, and I still can't"

It was a few hours later, and we were in our room. No one was out though, Michael hadn't even stopped to talk to Louis and Lisa. He had been saying the same thing over and over again.

"How-how are you-you-you"

"I dunno" I said, "It's just going to happen sometime soon. I don't know when, just soon" So I lied, I can live with it.

"I-I Robin...death" Michael pushed himself up, pulled me off of his lap, and got off the bed.

"Where are you going?" I asked. He looked down at the bed, not at me but through me.

"I dunno, just somewhere" Michael said. Before I could protest, Michael was out the door, and I was alone.

* * *

Michael walked out to the outside hallway connecting all of the rooms. He leaned against the rail, staring down at the Ever Grande building. The wind was unusually cold for Hoenn, and the moon was full. The night music was the sound of a thousand voices, talking about nothing.

"I'm not surprised to see you here" A new voice said. Michael sighed, as Robin slumped down beside him. They looked at each other, smiling at each other.

"In two days we're going to be fighting each other" Michael said. "I feel numb at the thought of it. I shouldn't feel numb, why do I Robin?"

"I can't explain it" She said. "I fell out of my seat when I saw it. I didn't think that it could happen, you and me fighting each other any place other then the finals" Michael laughed. "What?"

"You wanted us fighting at all?" He asked.

"At some point in time" Robin said, "Maybe, I dunno. I'm not sad to be battling you Michael. I do need for one thing to be clear though"

"Not show me any mercy?" Michael said, "I know, I actually was hoping to find you just to tell you the same thing. We'll be enemy's tomorrow Robin, not friends. We're both going to do things that in any other situation we would never do. I know I'm going to regret them. Unless I backed out..."

"Do and I will hate you" Robin said, "We knew this would happen some day. If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right. We're going to give each other the best battle of our lives. This is it Michael, the battle by which all of our others will be measured" Ironically my dear listener, that wasn't true. But I'll get to that later.

"Don't get mad at me if I win" Michael said. Robin laughed.

"I think I'd get mad at you if you lost" She said. "It should be fun, at least I hope so" Robin moved and kissed Michael gently on the lips. Her lips were soft, and hungry, perpetually hungry. "I'll see you tomorrow" With that Robin turned and walked off, Michael staring until long after she was gone.

* * *

Two days past without anything of any real importance occurring. We watched the four tournaments, watching the five other finalists being selected. We spent some time with Louis and Lisa, though Michael didn't tell him what I told him. Hell, he wasn't willing to discuss it with me, he was in deep denial. Maybe Michael was just scared, I dunno. I knew thought that I wasn't as scared as I should have been.

The day of our battle with Robin, Michael let everyone out of their balls. We ate some unidentifiable substance for breakfast, it may have been food, but it didn't taste like it. Rush was there I think, I dunno. The whole morning passed in a blur, I can't remember a damn thing about it. Eventually I found myself in the preparation room with Michael and everyone else.

"Ugh, I feel like my head is going to explode" Michael moaned, rubbing his forehead, eyes closed.

"Isn't this exciting?" Flash said, "A battle in the Ever Grande Conference. The eyes of the world are watching us, what do you suppose they're thinking of us Angel?" I threw up. "Kay, we'll get back to you"

"I'm prepared for battle" Sharon said, "I've prepared myself mentally and physically for any challenge that should present its self"

"Why did you tell that pokemon when we were at that water gym you'd be kicking their ass?" Titan asked.

"Simple, I believe in the necessity of being polite" Sharon said. "I want them to remember me for my good manners and my physical prowess"

"I'm so happy I could fly" Rush giggled, doing a back flip. I'm pretty sure that he was floating an inch off of the ground.

"God help us all" Bane mumbled. "I've seen Robin, she's got a dragon. She's, oh boy, dragon's scare me"

"Can't say I blame you" I replied, nearly hacking out a lung. Michael stood up, brushing off his pants.

"It's time" He said. Michael quickly withdrew all of his pokemon except me. The door to the main arena opened, sunlight filling our little room. The announcers voice, which had been speaking the entire time, finally announced us.

"On the green side, new-comer Michael Luccelli from Littleroot Town" Everyone began booing as soon as they heard where we were from. Michael waved, instead of giving them the one-finger salute like I would have.

"On the red side, fellow new-comer from Littleroot Town, Robin Dobin" The crowd cheered for Robin, of course they did. Robin walked out in a white pant suite, wait not a pants suit. A dress suit, no pants, instead a skirt. That was an odd change.

"The rules are simple. The battle will be six on six, the last trainer with one pokemon standing will be declared the winner. Trainers, take your position" Michael and I jumped onto the green podium, as it began to rise out of the ground. Soon we were ten feet up in the air, in front of us a flat stone field, across from us Robin.

"Trainers ready?"

"Ready!"

"...Begin!"

"Krysta you're up"

"Come on out Sharon" Sharon appeared on the field in all of her dragonfly esc glory, while Krysta the Altaria appeared on the other side of the field. Time to begin.

"Swagger" Michael ordered.

"Mist" Robin countered. Krysta's wings beat at a rapid rate beating a mist around herself, as Sharon attempted to confuse her. With confusion failed, Sharon decided to go the elegant and simple route of flying straight into the mist cloud, swinging a couple of rocks. Krysta popped out of the top of the cloud though as Sharon went in. She turned down and fired a blast of dragon breath, breaking up the cloud and knocking Sharon straight into the ground.

Sharon responded by throwing both of her rocks into Krysta's skull. It did noticeable enough damage, cutting deep into Krysta's skull and drawing blood. Krysta fired a dragon pulse, Sharon avoiding only by rolling out of the way. The pulse tossed gravel and dust into the air, distracting Krysta for just a moment. In that moment, Sharon fired off two blasts of dragon breath, one after the other. Krysta dogged the first, but flew into the second.

"Dragon claw Sharon"

"Sing" Sharon's claws glowed purple, and she launched herself straight up at Krysta. She pulled them back, prepared to strike, when Krysta began to sing. The look of confidence on Sharon's face began to shake. Her eyes drooped and her lower jaw trembled, wings going limp. Sharon's claws returned to their natural color, and she fell out of the sky, landing on her head. She went limp, and began snoring, of course.

"Take down" Robin ordered. Michael couldn't wake Sharon up, no items allowed in a Conference match. All he could do was shout out her name and watch as the cloud dragon thing slammed all of its weight into Sharon.

Krysta literally drove Sharon into the rock, creating a crater in the field. She fired a dragon pulse into Sharon, point blank range. Sharon's eyes jerked open, as the blast bounced her off the ground. Her wings seemed to come to life, fluttering rapidly and keeping her in the air.

"Shake it off Sharon, rock tomb" Rock's fell out of the sky, onto Krysta. She tried to avoid it, but ended up being knocked down by six or seven stones. Krysta shook off some of the rocks, only to have Sharon hit her in the face with a hyper beam.

For any other pokemon, that would have been it. First match up over, point to us. The only problem was that at this time both Sharon and Krysta were at the strongest they had ever been. This would be a long battle.

Krysta diverted most of the blast, by pulling up a piece of the rock and shielding her self. The blast did shatter the rock, but most of the blast went off in seven different directions. Krysta flew foreword and pecked Sharon between the eyes.

"Flamethrower Sharon" Michael ordered. Sharon unleashed a torrent of fire, consuming Krysta in a ball and pushing her back. The ball of fire suddenly turned into a ball of ice, which fell to the ground, smashing into a million pieces. Krysta shook herself off, and faced Sharon.

"Ariel ace" Krysta flew foreword, and cut sharply into Sharon. Sharon twisted her body, and hit Krysta in the side of the skull with an iron tail. Krysta bit Sharon in the chest, trying to fire another dragon breath.

Sharon instead flew down, dragging Krysta along the stone floor of the battle field, more or less scraping her off. Krysta double teamed Sharon, doubles of her appearing all around Sharon in a circle.

"Stone edge" Michael commanded. Sharon pulled several sharp rocks out of somewhere, and began tossing them like darts at the doubles, taking them out one after another. Final, about the sixth double, we struck pay dirt, hitting Krysta in the chest.

"Dragon rush" Robin ordered. Oh shit. Krysta more or less vanished, becoming a blur of swirling purple energy. Sharon attempted to follow the blur, but it picked up speed, growing faster until the purple was every where. Then suddenly it struck Sharon in the back, causing her to flip in mid-air. Sharon landed, trying desperately to gain her balance. She was breathing heavily, but so was Krysta. Both of them looked like they were barely holding together, and I knew this battle was about to end. Sharon fluttered back up, to face Krysta.

"Ice beam" Robin ordered. Krysta unleashed a bright blue beam of ice, straight at Sharon. Sharon tossed her self up with all her energy, the beam of ice catching the tip of her tail. Sharon winced, but was still able to keep herself up.

"Giga impact" Michael ordered. Sharon began to swirl green, and flew straight at Krysta, striking her in the back. She drove Krysta into a cloud of dust and rock, blinding us all. The dirt settled, and when it ended, Sharon stood on top of an unconscious Krysta, victorious.

The victory was short-lived. Robin withdrew Krysta, and unclipped another pokeball.

"Come out Aquana" Robin's Milotic appeared on the field, looking as evil as Milotic always seem to. Sharon was tired, way to beaten to fight.

"Thunder punch" Michael ordered. Sharon fluttered over to Aquana, swinging a weak punch. Aquana fired an ice beam, knocking Sharon out cold (no pun intended). Sharon fell to the ground, and was quickly recalled by Michael.

"You did great" Michael whispered, kissing her ball. He unclipped another ball, "Bane, you're up!" Bane emerged on the field, in all his metal/fighting glory. Bane wasted no time, launching himself at Aquana, paws glowing. He attempted to brick-break the serpent, but it twisted its pipe body, and all Bane got was a paw full of rock. Aquana slammed its huge body into Bane, throwing him half way across the field. Bane skidded to a stop, and looked Aquana in the eyes, growling.

"Mudslap" Robin ordered.

"Focus blast" Aquana slapped mud from no where straight at Bane, who dropped to avoid it. He thrust his arms out and fired a focus blast straight at Aquana, catching him in the chest. Milotic lunged out and wrapped its pipe-like body around Bane, attempting to crush him. Bane thrust his arms up, avoiding having them wrapped up. Two aura spheres appeared in his paws, and he slammed them into the sides of Aquana's head.

"You know, you could have him use thunder punch right now" I said. Michael shook his head slowly.

"No, I'm waiting for her to do it"

"Do what?" Aquana tossed Bane up, and hit him with his tail as Bane came down. Bane landed on his forepaws, and flipped up.

"Bone rush" Michael ordered. A purple bone made of energy appeared in Bane's paws, and he ran at Aquana, trying to club him in the head. Aquana shot off a hydro-pump, hitting Bane square in the chest. This move wasn't meant to damage, but to slow Bane down, something it failed at miserably.

Bane pushed foreword, still managing to hold the energy bone together. Aquana turned up the water pressure, so Bane had metal claws appear out of his lower paws. He hooked them into the ground, and slowly worked his way up to Aquana, where he delivered the blow between the eyes with a loud crack!

Blood dribbled out of the wound in Aquana's forehead. Growling, he unleashed a twister attack on Bane, purple energy appearing around Bane and lifting him up and off the ground.

"Close combat" Michael ordered. I noticed him crossing his fingers as he did this, but I didn't comment. Bane somehow managed to bounce off the air, straight at Aquana.

He landed, and became a blur around Aquana. Aquana tried to slither away, but was punched under the jaw. Then upside the head, to the back of the head, to the lower back, to the lower gut, in both eyes. Blow after blow delivered to Aquana, bruises and cuts appearing on its body. Bane finally jerked to a stop in front of the panting Aquana.

"Aqua ring" Robin ordered. Aquana lifted off of the ground, water appearing around him, instantly beginning to heal him.

"Got her, now Bane, thunder punch the aqua ring!" Bane's paw cracked with electricity, and he rushed Aquana, punching the orb of water that had enveloped him. Aquana began absorbing the water, right as electricity flowed though the water. Instead, Aquana ended up absorbing an amplified amount of electricity, frying the serpent.

Aquana fell out of the aqua ring, smoking and out cold. Two down, four to go.


	121. Michael vs Robin II

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXXI: Michael vs. Robin II**

Robin withdrew Aquana without a look at her unconscious pokemon. She paused for a moment, staring at the ball, then reclipped it to her suit.

"Shiny, you're up" Robin said, as her Manectric appeared on the field. It growled, and set its eyes on Bane. "Fire fang" Shiny lunged at Bane, her mouth overflowing with flames. She tried to bite into Bane, who promptly slammed his steel paw into her muzzle, releasing a torrent of blood from both of her nostrils. Shiny didn't let this bother her, biting Bane in the leg, hurting him with her flames.

Bane screamed, and fired an aura sphere into her back. Shiny pulled away from Bane, running straight back, keeping her eyes on him. She howled loudly, and her muscles bulged for a moment.

"Extreme speed Bane"

"Thunder" Bane ran at Shiny, then seemed to more or less vanish into thin air. We could still see little dents appear in the ground as he ran, but not even Shiny could focus on him. Wham! Shiny was thrown across the field, skidding. Bane stood where she had just a moment ago, one arm outstretched, paw clenched into a semi-fist. He was trembling slightly, but seemed okay.

Sadly, he wasn't fast enough to get out of the way. Shiny skidded to a stop, and brought a thunder attack down from the heavens, right onto Bane. As a Steel type, Bane wasn't weak against electricity, nor was he resistant. Sadly, neutrality still can cause a lot of damage in the long run.

Bane was knocked down to one knee. Slowly he pushed himself up, sizzling and smelling of burnt steel (how else can I describe it?). He shook himself off, and prepared for the next attack.

Bane focused his energy, as several white orbs in the shape of swords appeared around him, swirling. They all were sucked back into his body, and his strength seemed to increase drastically. Bane ran at Shiny, an aura sphere appearing in his paws. He fired, only to be hit by the expanding dome of electricity that came from Shiny and her discharge attack. This knocked Bane on his ass, and he fired the aura sphere into the air.

"Thunder fang" Robin ordered.

"Force palm" Michael commanded.

Bane jumped up, coming down straight at Shiny. He landed, running his glowing paw across Shiny's face really hard. Shiny responded by biting him in the arm extremely hard. Sparks shot out of the corners of her mouth, as she electrified Bane. Bane snarled, and slammed his metal arm into the top of Shiny's skull, getting the Manectric off.

Shiny fired several thunder bolts at Bane, who retreated from her. He dogged left, right, right, thunder bolts turning parts of the field into gravel. Sadly, Bane ended up dogging into a thunder bolt, zapping him and pitching him onto his stomach.

"God I'm getting sick of that" Bane mumbled. He turned to face Shiny, as he stood back up. Bane was swaying, Shiny was panting.

"Charge Beam" Robin ordered.

"Bone Rush" Manectric fired a beam of pure electricity, striking Bane in the chest, but not knocking him down.

"You'd think I'd be done after that" Bane growled, a bone made out of energy appearing, "You'd be wrong" Bane ran straight at Shiny, till he was ten feet away. Suddenly he jumped, going straight up, and coming down, slamming the bone between Shiny's eyes.

Shiny's eyes bulged, as her mouth drooped. The Manectric collapsed in a heap, out cold. Bane's energy bone vanished, and he threw his arms up triumphantly. Robin withdrew Shiny quickly, and pulled out another pokeball.

"Dusty, now" A Sandslash appeared on the field, claws brandished. Where the hell did Robin find a Sandslash in Hoenn? No clue, but she found one. Dusty looked at Bane for only a moment, before Robin ordered a dig attack. Dusty vanished, burrowing under the stone floor.

"Five minutes, no more" Bane mumbled.

"Focus Punch" Michael ordered. Bane got down on his knees, holding one arm up, and the other arm holding up. Sandslash emerged from the ground, but before she could hurt Bane, Bane slammed his fist into her. Dusty was knocked back into the ground, and didn't emerge.

"Get out of there Bane" Bane stood up, only to have the ground under him collapse. Bane sunk into the field, one arm sticking out, before he vanished into a hole. We watched, but as it turns out we were watching the wrong part of the field. A minute later, Bane exploded through a section of tile ten feet away. He was bruised, bloody, and out cold.

The tile repaired almost instantly. How? I don't know. Bane was out cold though, and we were three for three. Michael withdrew Bane quickly, and reclipped his ball.

"Bane did good" Michael mumbled, "Rush, you're up" Rush emerged on the field, looking confused as he did. He spotted Dusty, and kipped happily. Dusty nodded, and pulled herself back under the ground.

"Dig" Robin commanded. Not much else she could do in this situation.

"Water gun" Rush happily bounded after the long lump in the ground that was where Dusty was digging. Suddenly, the digging stopped, and Rush stood staring at the end, preparing to fire.

Dusty exploded behind Rush in a fountain of stone and dirt. Rush twisted his body around, as her claws came down hard. Rush fired, striking Dusty in the chest, after her claws scraped into his back. Dusty leapt under the ground, and Rush fired into the air.

"Crush claw" Robin ordered.

"Whirlpool" Michael commanded. Dusty went so far down, we couldn't even follow her. Suddenly, two sets of claws appeared on both side of Rush. Before he could get away, they drove themselves into his sides.

Rush started up his whirlpool, but all he succeeded in doing was lifting several tiles up, and revealing a hole under him.

"Hydro-pump Rush, jump in!"

"You're annoying me Kip! I'm going in!" Rush jumped into the hole, and we couldn't see anything. We could hear though.

"Hey, get out of my tunnel!"

"You come out first! I just want to play, and you keep going under grown"

"Make me"

"You're mean" Their was a pause, then Dusty shot out of the ground, back first, propelled by Rush and his hydro-pump. Dusty hit the ground, soaking wet, and out cold. Rush kipped happily.

"Dusty, return" Robin shrunk the pokeball, and reclipped it. She unclipped another one, flipping it between her fingers, then enlarged it. "Krysta, you're up!"

Robin's Salamance emerged on the field, with a loud roar. Rush's eyes went wide, and he began to tremble slightly, possibly with excitement.

"Ice beam" Michael ordered.

"Fly" Rush shot off icy spit, only to miss Salamance who shot straight up in the air. Rush fired a second, only to once again miss Salamance, who fired herself straight down. The solid mass of flying dragon slammed right into Rush, knocking him backwards. Rush flipped repeatedly in the air, bouncing himself by firing with his water gun. He landed on all fours, smiling happily.

"Earthquake" Robin ordered.

"Keep trying the ice beam" Michael ordered. Rush fired, but the ice beam went up and to the right. The ground began to shake, and Rush was tossed left and right, bouncing back and forth.

Using the same trick as earlier, Rush fired a series of water guns at the ground, keeping himself airborne. Then suddenly, a hydro-pump, used to send the little sack of kip flying. He landed on the back of Krysta, much to the dragons surprise.

"Fire!" Michael cried. Rush obliged, firing an ice beam straight into the back of Krysta's head. The dragon tried to shake him off, but Rush held tight, continuing to fire. Slowly the ice encased Krysta, until her entire head was encased. Rush turned back and fired at the lower half of the Salamance, encasing her tail and hind legs in ice. Finally, he fired straight down, encasing Krysta's wings and forelegs. I also noticed that Krysta had quit struggling way to easy.

Rush leapt off, staring at the dragon completely encased in ice. Krysta then fell over, the ice knocking her out, and we had three up on Robin.

Well, that was what was supposed to have happened. Instead the ice began to crack. Little cracks appeared, slowly spreading all over. Rush cocked his head, confused. Suddenly, the ice shattered, Krysta shaking herself off.

"That all you got?"

"Dragon breath" Robin ordered. A torrent of purple flames erupted from Krysta's mouth, straight at Rush. Rush's ice beam vanished in the torrent of purple, which washed over him. Rush ran as fast as he could away from the flames, only slightly burned.

"Rush whirlpool"

"Up Krysta, thunder fang" Water shot up around Krysta, trying to encase her. Rush ran back, but Krysta was to fast. The dragon swept down, scooped him up in her mouth, and began to gnaw on him. Sparks shot out of her mouth, and Krysta spit out an unconscious Mudkip.

"Return Rush" Michael withdrew the Mudkip, and attached it back to his belt. Rush's ball then fell to the ground, because that belt is defective. Ignoring it, Michael pulled off another ball.

"Flash come on out" Once again, Michael was appealing to my neutrality is better then nothing strategy. The only problem is that Titan was part rock, and Salamance was weak against rock-type.

Flash appeared on the field, looking confused and tired. He yawned, and looked over at the Salamance. He shrugged, and prepared for battle.

"Shockwave" Michael ordered, desperately needing to damage the dragon.

"Dragon claw" Krysta lunged, sharp claws glowing purple. Flash fired a weak blast of electricity, but one guaranteed to hit. It hit, doing not a damn thing.

Krysta stabbed Flash in the chest, lifting him off the ground and tossing him up. Before Flash could come down though, Krysta shot up and bit down on him hard. Flash squirmed, but couldn't break the bear-trap esc grip of the dragon. So he did the only thing he could do.

Flash unleashed as much electricity as he could, into Krysta's mouth, Krysta's eyes began to water, as the inside of her mouth was burned. She bit down harder, but now her blood dribbled out of her lips, not just Flash's. Finally, unable to deal with the shocks, Krysta was forced to spit Flash out.

Flash hit the ground soggy, with a four small and blood holes on his body. He shook himself off though like it was nothing, and prepared to continue the fight.

"Charge beam" Michael ordered.

"Giga impact" Robin ordered. It was only about now that I noticed that Robin was ordering her pokemon like a fucking robot. No emotion going into a single attack. Krysta launched herself straight at Flash, energy swirling around her body. Flash's eyes were closed, he was focused.

Closer, ten feet, five feet, three feet, NOW! Flash's eyes shot open, and he fired his Charge Beam at Salamance, striking her in the face. Krysta, who by now was completely airborne, ended up deflected to the left, narrowly missing Flash. Krysta skipped across the floor, using her four claws to drag herself to a stop. She pushed herself around, looking at Flash, rage in her eyes.

Suddenly, the earth began to shake. Earthquake, not an earthquake. Flash ran, though where he was hoping to run to is a mystery. He dogged rocks, undulating earth, but ended up knocked on his side. Before Flash could do anything else, a wave of rock and earth crashed onto Flash.

I knew things wouldn't end well, but as the dust settled, I don't think I know how badly they were going to end. Flash lay coated in dirt and rock, completely limp. Their was a deep and nasty gash in his forehead, and his tail was bent. Krysta turned her head straight up, and fired off a blast of dragon breath. Michael scowled, and withdrew Flash.

"The damn thing won't die" I cried out. "Flash battled his ass off, and the damn thing isn't hurt!"

"I know, we've gotta keep trying though. It's down to you and Titan, and he's up" With that, Michael unleashed our juggernaut against Robin's.

"Earthquake" Robin commanded.

"DIG!" Michael shouted. That move was a suggestion on my part, earthquake doesn't work well when you're underground. Titan managed to slip quickly under the earth, before everything began shaking badly. As soon as things stopped, Titan emerged. While the dig attack would do nothing, it sent a message, if Robin tried to use Earthquake, we could avoid it.

"Rock throw"

"Fire fang" Krysta flew at Titan, mouth flaming, and bit him on the shoulder. Titan responded with a boulder to the side of the skull, smashing it into gravel, followed quickly by another. Krysta let go, only to head-butt Titan in the chest.

Titan fell back on his tail, wheezing, trying desperately to breath. Krysta mud-slapped Titan on the tail, wounding Titan and knocking him onto his back.

Titan leapt up, and ran straight at Krysta, skull gleaming with an iron head attack. Krysta slashed at him with dragon claw, but Titan ducked, going down on his knees. Krysta slashed above Titan, getting nothing but air. Titan pushed straight up, and struck the dragon on the lower jaw.

Krysta's neck snapped back, and it took her a moment to get refocused. In that time, Titan was able to move his huge bulk away from her.

"Brick break" Robin ordered.

"Rock tomb" Titan tossed as many rocks as he could, but Krysta avoided most of them. Her wings glowed white, and she slammed her left one into Titan hard. He doubled over, bleeding from where she struck him. She struck so deep, Titan was fucking dented.

"Stone edge" Michael commanded. Titan wearily pulled out a sharp rock and swung it like a club, hitting Krysta in the throat. Krysta coughed up a mouth full of blood, and responded to this the only way she knew how.

"Draco meteor" Robin commanded. Okay, how the fuck did Robin get Krysta to learn that attack? Titan was still resistant, but he was severely weakened by this battle, He was bruised, bleeding, and about to go through a lot worse.

Purple flaming rocks from no where began to pummel the field. Titan ran from Krysta, as only an Aggron can. Michael ordered another dig, but as he started to go under, the first one hit him in the back of the skull. It knocked him on his stomach, letting another hit him in the small of his back.

Titans limbs jolted every time a meteor struck him. Finally, after what seemed like twenty meteors, the rocks stopped, and Titan lay still.

"No, don't be knocked out, be awake, be awake" I chanted. At first, nothing. Then, Titan's left arm twitched. The twitch turned into movement, Titan pushing himself back onto two legs. He was swaying, running on fumes, tarnished, bleeding, but awake.

"Finnish this Krysta, bite Titan and fling him up" Robin commanded. Krysta flew over to Titan, rather slowly. Her head was swollen, their were bruises and cuts all over her scales, but she was still going.

She bit Titan's arm, him barely registering a response. That's when Michael ordered the attack.

"Thunder bolt!" With all of his remaining energy, Titan ejected a single thunderbolt directly into Krysta, as she flung all eight hundred pounds of him straight up. It didn't seem to hurt her, but something odd happened...

"Dragon breath" Robin ordered. Krysta kept Titan in the air, by firing her dragon breath. The Aggron curled into a ball, as the flames pierce him. This was pitiful, Titan couldn't move, was stuck in mid-air, and would be knocked out the moment he hit the ground.

"That's good Krysta, now stop the dragon breath" Krysta ignored Titan, and kept on attacking. "Krysta, stop" Krysta's eyes darted around, but she continued to attack. "Krysta, I'm ordering you to stop now and get out of the way"

"She can't" Michael mumbled, smiling to himself. "She's paralyzed. When Titan falls, he'll be knocked out by the impact. But the only thing keeping him in the air is Krysta's dragon breath, and Krysta is frozen under Titan, using the attack. Tell me, do you think the battered dragon can withstand being hit by eight hundred pounds of steel?"

Suddenly, the dragon breath began to come in bursts. Short bursts, a second between them, but that increased. Two seconds, three, then six. Then, nothing at all. Titan plummeted out of the sky, and Krysta could only stare up at him, unable to move.

Titan smashed into Krysta, hitting her in the face. The two toppled over, onto their sides, bodies twisted together. Both were unconscious, a double knock-out.


	122. Michael vs Robin III

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXXII: Michael vs. Robin III**

"What could you talk to Charlie that you couldn't talk to me about?" Louis asked. Two weeks since we'd left Sootopolis, two weeks for Louis to stew with that question in his mind, two weeks without asking. Lisa sighed, and turned her attention to Louis. Pecha was on Lisa's lap, plans for world domination interrupted by belly rubs.

"Does it really matter?" Lisa asked. At this point in time, Titan was tossing rocks at Drago. Drago flapped his wings, and the rocks stopped in mid-air, before falling to the ground.

"Yes it matters" Louis said, "The two of you didn't fuck. I needed to know that, and I except that. If you had, I don't know what I'd do. I need to know what you talked about though, please tell me" Lisa sighed.

"We stayed up talking about battles" Lisa said, "About pokemon battling, I miss it you know. My time as a trainer was long, but not long enough. We talked a little about Virgil, I really miss him. Does it make sense to miss a pokemon that much"

"Well yeah" Louis said, smiling. "If Enfer died, I know I'd miss her. I don't think I could say how much I'd miss her" He stroked Enfer behind the ears, eliciting a response from the dog. "So that's all you talked about"

"...More or less" Lisa said. "I dunno, I've considered going back into battling you know? Of course, I always feel uncomfortable about that era of my past. When I was with Charlie though I felt...right. I felt good again"

"You want to run off with Charlie!?

"No! No of course not! I just, I want that feeling" Lisa giggled like a little girl. "That feeling of being on top of it all, of success. It's a power high, it really is. I miss that feeling Louis, but I don't know what to" Suddenly, the audience cheered. Louis and Lisa looked back, to see Titan and Drago being recalled.

"What happened?"

"Titan and Drago were knocked out. You know what this means?"

"Angela will have to battle" Enfer mumbled, "She'll determine the winner of this match. Oh God"

* * *

Michael withdrew Titan and reclipped his ball. Before doing anything else, he knelt down beside me, looking me in the eyes.

"We can stop. You don't have to battle Angela, we can stop"

"No we can't" I said, "We both knew what this would mean if it came down to this. I'm more then ready Michael, you know that" He paused, eyes clenched.

"I'm not sure I'm ready for this" Michael said, "This is it, after this battle, either me or Robin will have lost. I'm glad your able to deal with the pressure. Me? I wanna throw up, or curl up in a ball and die. I don't want to beat Robin, I don't want to loose, I really don't want the pressure to be on you"

"I know" I said soothingly, "But it's got to happen this way. We knew this would happen" Michael sighed, and nodded. He stood up.

"Angel, you're up" I nodded, and jumped off of the platform. Sadly, the platform was several feet off of the ground, so it hurt like a kick to the face when I landed. Ignoring it, I walked out onto the field, that was repaired completely.

Before I go any further, let me explain a little bit about this field. It's made up entirely of four-by-four foot square cubes. These cubes can be pushed out of the way easily, smashed, burned, torn up, and fixed. How? When their are no pokemon on the field, or the cubes are badly damaged, the damaged ones flip to an undamaged side.

In front of me appeared Celest, Robin's Gallade. It yawned, and looked at me, waving. I growled, baring my fangs, fur on end.

_Oh come on, you're still to cute to pull off the fierce look_

"Stay out of my mind!" I shouted.

_Alright. You're no fun you know. You have change since we last met though Ms. Angela_

"I said get the fuck out of my mind"

_I'm going. I just can see you've grown up a lot Ms. Angela. I'm impressed, let's both give it our all, alright?_

"You bet" I said, grinning. With that, it began.

"Faint attack" Michael cried.

"Close combat" Gallade rushed at me, looking like he had a cloud of fists surrounding his body. Before he could land a punch, I vanished, reappearing behind him. I slammed into him, dark-energy flowing through my body. Celest fell on his chest, accidentally embedding one of his fists into a cube.

I reappeared in front of Celest, only to watch the other fist hit me under the chin and knock me straight into the air. Oh boy did that hurt. It hurt easily more then any other injury I've had in my entire life. This would be the hardest battle of my life, and I knew that.

"Focus blast"

"Dark pulse" Celest pulled out of the cube, eyes clenched. He pulled one fist back, concentrating, energy swirling around his fist. I fired a pulse of dark energy straight at Celest. He bent back, eyes still closed, supported by his ankles. The dark pulse flowed over him harmlessly, and Celest sprung back up.

"Oh shit" A blast of fighting-type energy exploded at me, with all the speed and force of a fucking train. About to be hit, I fired a second dark pulse, when the blast made contact. The pulse of energy came out in a ring, with the focus blast moving through the center. The two attacks made contact, hitting me between the eyes and him on the chest.

The blast was more or less his fist hitting me in the brain, causing me to bleed through my nose and my eyes. The bleeding in my eyes stopped by the time the attack stopped, but blood continued to dribble out my nostrils and down my chin. This was going to be a long battle.

Celest had a small, partial circle cut on his chest. It wasn't bleeding badly, but it was causing him some distress. He shook his head rapidly, and stood back up again.

"Brick break"

"Quick attack Angel, avoid it" Celest ran at me, fist glowing white. He swung, and got a fist full of air as his reward. I dashed out of the way, so fast I was only a black blur, re-appearing behind him. He turned, and swung again, me avoiding again.

"Brick break the ground" I ran out of what I expected to be another attempt to pound me in the face. Instead, I watched as Celest punched the ground, pounding out a large gorge. A gorge I couldn't avoid, and ended up flipping into. Suddenly, I was stuck, head the only thing out of the hole in the ground caused by Celest.

Oh shit. I squirmed, trying desperately to get my body out of the ground. Sadly, the four legged body doesn't work well for squirming out of a hole. It wasn't fast enough.

Celest grabbed onto my left ear and jerked me straight out of the ground. He pulled back a glowing white fist.

"Confuse ray!" I fired the multi-colored blast of energy, as Celest hit me in the face. I flew back and hit the ground, skidding sideways. Celest continued to punch, even though I was on the ground, apparently under the impression I was still there. Left, right, all nothing. He swung up, connecting with his own jaw, and tossing himself sideways. Celest was bleeding from his mouth, but he ignored this as he stood back up. The blood stopped, and for the first time I noticed Gallade blood is purple, not red.

"Sucker punch"

"Double team Celest" Several Celest suddenly appeared around me in a circle, only one of them the real one. Yippee. I ran and sucker punched the first. No luck. The second, third, and fourth gave me no results. I ran to the fifth, when the sixth stepped behind me, and slammed his shoulder blade into my back.

All the air rushed out of my lungs, my eyes bulging out. I twisted around, and jumped up, head-butting the bastard. His neck snapped back, a nice bruise appearing between his eyes. I mudslapped him in the legs, trying to harm him, but Celest simply jumped up to avoid it.

He jumped straight up, one leg extended, and tried to land on me. I rolled out of the way, and he slammed into the ground. Before Celest could pull back, I ran and leapt, tackling Celest in the chest.

Celest grabbed me, and tossed me straight down, so I hit the ground head first. Oh boy did that hurt. I leapt back, as far away from Celest as I could possibly get. Instead, he used his psychic powers to lift a block out of the ground and toss it at me. Oh shit.

Block after block flew at me, and since a new block automatically came up out of the ground, he could do this for a while. Needed to stop him.

"Hyper beam" Good enough. Another block, I fired a beam of pure energy out of my mouth, hitting and going through the block. It left a fist sized hole in the block, which caused the block to split into two halves, sailing past me on both sides. The beam of energy hit Celest in the head, causing him to stumble back and drop the next block he had.

"Ow" Celest said. "You're not going to make this easy, are you?

"Of course not" With that, I shot off a dark pulse, only to have him teleport out of the way. I flipped, just in time to see his fist hit me in the face, energy swirling around his fist. Energy swirled around me, and I felt a little weaker, of course it was a drain punch.

I responded by biting Celest in the arm, digging in as deep as I could. Celest pulled me up and shook me rapidly, but I refused to let go. If I was going off, I was taking some flesh with me. Finally he slung me off, but a large bloody patch appeared on his arm.

"Torment" Michael ordered. I used dark-type energy to torment Celest, freezing his second attempted drain punch. Since Gallade don't hide their emotions well, I could feel his frustration flood my mind. I laughed and he responded by kicking the ground so hard, the cube I stood on shot up and smacked me on the under side.

"Bite" Michael commanded. I tried to bite Celest again, only to be caught in the chest by his fist. I ended up more or less impaled on his fist, lifted up to eye level with Celest. He looked at me, and for once I could see both of his red eyes. He pulled back his other fist, and prepared to strike.

* * *

Their was security all over Ever Grande, but none where their needed to be, on top of the buildings. On top of the northwest building was Tagger, on the edge of the tower, watching the battle. He could see it all through a small telescope set up on a short tri-pod. All his attention was focused on Robin though, he didn't give a damn about the battle.

"This is the girl who'll be protecting him" Tagger mumbled to himself. "This is the girl who fought me in the safari-zone. How was she able to best me? Their is nothing extraordinary about her. She's not special, I'm special. She's not special, she's nothing. I'll kill her" Tagger paused, and turned away from the battle.

"Not at first though. First I'll make her surfer until her last breath, I'll make her suffer. Maybe I wont kill her, no, I'll make her life a hell that only death can stop. She has to be out of commission before I initiate my operation"

_The Tyger is hunting again._

* * *

"Flash!" Michael commanded. As Celest prepared to strike, I caused a burst of bright light, blinding Celest for just long enough. I jumped onto Celest's other fist, then jumped again, body slamming the Gallade in the face. His fist then made contact with my back, hitting me in the kidney.

I screamed in pure pain, but Celest ground his fist into my kidney, causing more agony. I slid more or less off his fist, onto the ground, almost completely limp. _Can't give up now Angela, can't let him see you bleed._ I skipped back away from Celest, bleeding from a cut above my right eye. My body felt broken, my fur was matted in blood, my flesh was bruised. I was seeing double, my head pounding like a nail had been pounded into it.

Celest wasn't doing much better. He was covered in bruises, bleeding from little cuts and a couple of big ones. His left elbow blade was bent slightly, I hadn't noticed before, but I had caused it.

"Giga impact" Michael commanded. I ran at Celest, my body swirling with green energy, forming almost a protective dome around me. I jumped, aiming for the throat, maybe I could break his damn neck.

A leg came up, hitting me in the chest, skipping me off the knee. I missed, and sailed over Celest's shoulder. Damn it. I twisted my body around as I sailed, and shot several Swift stars. The stars embedded themselves in the back of Celest's skull doing little more then to piss him off and bruise the back of his head.

I hit the ground on all fours, barely able to stand up. Oh God my head, I needed to rest, to stop, to do something other then this. I wanted to quit, couldn't quit though, not yet. Celest turned to face me.

"This is it Angela"

"Let's make it fun" I replied.

"Focus punch" Robin ordered. Celest closed his eyes, focusing all of his energy into his fist.

"Shadow ball" Michael ordered. Robin's eyes widened with mild surprise. You see, Robin didn't know and Celest didn't know I could do shadow ball. Only enough energy to do one. I formed the ball of purple and black energy, and fired. Celest's eyes opened, and he swung.

Celest's fist hit me in the snout, so hard I flew back and smashed into the ground, leaving a dent. My shadow ball hit him under the jaw, tossing him back. He rolled over three times, finally landing in a heap. Both of us laid limp.

"Both contestants final pokemon appear to have been knocked out" The announcer obnoxiously cried. "The first pokemon to stand up will win the match for their trainer. After one minute, the match will be declared a draw"

"Get up Angel! You need to stand up"

"Celest, I am commanding you, stand up"

"Angel, get up"

"I command you, please Celest, win this for your trainer" Well, it worked. The entire audience watched, as one of us pushed our self up.


	123. It's Only A Paper Moon

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXXIII: It's Only A Paper Moon**

Celest and I lay across the battlefield from one another, both tired, bruised, bleeding. I think my leg may have been broken, I'm not sure. My skin felt raw through my fur, as if I'd been dragged along the ground by a truck.

_Gotta get up_

I could hear Michael and Robin both yelling at us, trying to get us to stand up. Had to do it, had to stand up. I pushed one forepaw up.

My brain ignited, my vision going black, agony washing over me. Can't do it, oh fuck I needed to lay down. My eyes snapped back open, and I realized the fur around my eyes was wet, I was crying from pain. I turned my attention over to Celest.

"I command you to stand up Celest" His eyes shot open, taking a surprising amount of energy to do that.

"Must obey Ms. Robin" Celest rolled, over onto his stomach. He put his hands onto the ground, wrists barely able to turn, both elbow-blades bent sideways. Blood, ignore it, ignore the pain. Stand up, bend you knees.

Celest was now on all fours, now came the hard part. Focusing, he pushed up again, somehow making it to his feet. All he had to do now was stand up, instead of doing something easier, like taking over the world. Got to ignore the pain, stand up.

"I...Am...UP!" With one final jolt, Celest pushed himself to two legs. The crowd cheered, and Celest turned to except the cheering, only to see me standing across from him. I'd made it to my feet one second sooner.

"Michael's pokemon is up first, Michael Luccelli is the winner!" The she-male announcer shouted. Celest, who I thought would have been angry, smiled. He dragged his body over to me, one leg completely limp.

"I thought I had you"

"You almost did" I said, grinning, ears limp on the sides of my head. "To be honest, I'd probably count it as a tie" Celest held up one hand.

"No, you beat me. You won" I grinned"

"I d-did so win..." World spinning, I giggled, fell to a crumpled heap on the ground. I didn't have to worry, a loud thump signaled Celest doing the same thing.

* * *

One ride on the psychedelic-dream machine fixed everything. How did it fix my broken bones, blood loss, ripped out fur, need of skin grafts, missing teeth, and various other problems? Just drink up and it'll all make sense.

"I don't want to do it" I said. I'd been the first one to go through, everyone else was in their ball and taking a ride. I was on Michaels lap, and he slowly stroked my softer fur. I felt weakened, but softer then I'd ever felt in my life.

"It doesn't matter, the tournament is paying for it" Michael said. "I've sent one of the attendants to look for Louis and Lisa. We're going to eat dinner with Robin"

"I don't want to though" I whined. "So what if it encourages good feelings between winners and losers, I don't want to do it" Ever Grande had this brilliant idea to encourage good sportsmanship. An idea as brilliant as changing the formula to Coke, and invading Poland.

They decided after every round, they would have the winner and loser of each match in their own dinning room, eating dinner together. Why would this encourage good sportsmanship? I'd rather use this as an opportunity to point out how much of a loser my opponent is, but that's just me.

"Well we're doing it" Michael said, "I need to talk with Robin anyways. No, not just to make fun of her"

"Why not, that's what I'd do!" Michael swatted me, and we sat in silence.

I hate pokemon food. Of course I've said that since this story started my dear listener, but I still hate it. Well Ever Grande's pokemon food is that special kind of awful, like someone shat pellets into my bowl.

All of the pellets were larger then normal ones, so I could only get part of one into my mouth at a time. It was like they were designed to make the taste of saw dust and shit linger in my mouth. They also said they matched pellet flavors to personalities, but I am not bitter! Who the fuck even likes bitter flavor!?

"You're not a girl" I said.

"Glad you noticed that" Drago said. All of the pokemon were out also, and I was getting to see Robin's pokemon for the first time since Slateport. "Didn't you see me in Slateport?"

"I forgot you were a guy, you're a very...feminine dragon" Drago snorted out a fire ball, catching my left ear. I screamed, and started rolling to put out the fire.

"I'd suggest you not do that again" Enfer said, appearing beside me. Drago looked down at her, laughing.

"Or what will you do?" Enfer shrugged. Drago laughed again, and roared. Or, at least it started that way, but suddenly no noise was coming out, only air. A large dent appeared on Drago's chest, where Enfer head-butted him.

"I warned you" Enfer said. Drago fell on his side, still gasping. I laughed, and turned to my mother.

"Thanks" I whispered. Enfer cocked her head.

"Something wrong?" She asked. I shook my head rapidly.

"No" I said, "Not a damn thing is wrong" I should have told her, should have told them all. I told Michael about my death, he knew vaguely about doomsday, but only I knew everything. I should have told them, let them prepare.

"Don't spoil the mood Angela" I mumbled, "Just let them enjoy it"

_It's not real, it's only a paper moon, on a canvas sky_

"I can't believe we won" I jumped a mile into the air, and turned to see Bane. "Flash has been giving me lessons"

"Asshole"

"Quite possibly" Bane said with a laugh. "You're unhappy. Can you tell me why Angela?" I sighed.

"Didn't tell Enfer, why should I tell you?" He frowned.

"Why not. I'm your friend"

"Then do what I tell you" I said, "Go enjoy the party, I plan on doing it" Bane sighed, and nodded.

Michael and Robin were eating some unidentifiable goop. Louis and Lisa had gone underneath the table almost six minutes earlier.

"One would think they'd have to come up for air" Michael commented.

"I suppose" Robin said. She was twirling her empty pokeballs between her fingers, not eating whatever they had scooped onto their plates. Michael put his fork into the scoop of gray mass they had given to him. His fork was instantly sucked into the mass.

"Great" Michael smiled and looked up, "So what do you think of what ever this is"

"Stinks" Robin said. She picked up the plate, and turned it upside down, shaking it rapidly. She then tossed it at the ceiling. After about four minutes, it was still up there. "Well, you won"

"So why don't I feel good?"

"I dunno" Robin said, tacking a sip of soda, "Why don't you feel good? Because you've got more battles? Because theirs a good chance you'll loose?"

"I battled you" Michael said, "I battled you Robin, I expected more. I expected to feel like I earned my victory, not like I got lucky"

"You did get lucky" Robin said. "But that's what most battles are like. They're ten percent skill, ten present work, and ninety percent luck"

"That's one hundred and ten percent" Michael said.

"...Wait" She began counting on her hands, "Okay, what's nine plus two?" Michael laughed, "What?"

"I've missed you, that's all" Michael said, "I don't get to have fun with the people I deal with. Can you imagine why?"

"Oh God, shove it in my ass! I'm begging you, in my ass!" Would it freak you out if I told you that Louis had been saying it.

"Can't imagine why" Robin said, eye-brow raising. "We can go somewhere else if you want"

"Or I can pull out the fire hose" Michael said, "Might be fun" Robin smiled for the first time all night long. "So Ms. Robin, what are your plans now?"

"I'd like to stay and watch you if it's okay" Robin said, "And after that...I honestly don't know. I don't want to go anywhere else, I don't like being outside of Littleroot, why would I want to be outside of Hoenn"

"You don't like being home"

"No, but I do like Littleroot. It reminds me of some of the good times, with both you and Angela" Robin sighed. "I'm going to release all of my pokemon though, take them back to where they came from"

"Are you sure?"

"They don't like me Michael" Robin said, "Only Celest likes me, the rest despise me with a passion. Don't ask me how I know Michael, it's just one of those things you know"

"I won't ask" Michael said, "But I will disagree. Robin, you're far in away the most awesome girl I know" She blushed.

"I wish I believed it some times" While the two of them blathered on, I was eating Sharon's food. Her food was sweet, but apparently she liked bitter food. Who knew?

Currently she was chasing Titan for teaching Dex his first word. Dex had said his first word, a beautiful moment, until we realized it was "manaj". Admittedly, a fragment of a word, but we knew what Titan had been trying to teach her boy.

"I feel ridiculous, embarrassed, and hung over" Dusty said, coming over beside me.

"Then you're in the right place, sit" The Sandslash sat down, and I observed it. "What gender are you?"

"Excuse me?"

"I thought I knew, but I'm baffled. You smell like dirt, and both happy places are inside on ground types"

"If you can't figure it out, I'm not going to tell you" Dusty said. It held up a couple of pellets on its claw, and let me eat them. His, or hers, were sour and made me spit up acid in my mouth. Yuck.

"Those are nasty"

"Oh I know" Dusty said, "I hate them also. But they're good for the stomach, if you can believe it. It's like crapping a brick though"

"How are you doing with Robin?" I asked, "I think I'd go insane" Dusty laughed.

"Oh, you do go crazy at first. But once you get past the perkiness, and the lipstick and fashion shows, Robin is a good enough trainers. She knows how to battle, some how. She's consistent, always wears pants suits. Why I don't know"

"Yeah, that's got me baffled" I said, "Why the pants suits? It looks like she's wearing a suit of cloth armor"

"Michael seems bland" Dusty said, "Can you trade him in for a more interesting model?"

"Of course not, and I wouldn't want to" I said, "He can be boring at times, but he's loveable. Plus if I need excitement, well I can ask Rush to go jump on Pecha"

"I guess. You know, what I think" Dust vanished in a red beam of light. I looked, to see Robin re-attaching her pokeballs to her waist.

"I'm going to go" Robin said. Before Michael could protest, she kissed him. "It's been fun"

* * *

Robin headed straight back to her room, ignoring everyone, more or less shutting out the world. She got there, and tossed her pokeballs on the bed before heading to the mini-bar. Inside were a bunch of alcohol's she'd never heard of, and a few glasses, essential for pokemon battling.

"Screw it, I'm drinking it anyways" Robin mumbled, pouring as much as she could into one glass. She slumped down on the bed, drink in one hand, head pounding.

"Wouldn't a gun be easier?" Robin sighed.

"Is doomsday tomorrow?" She asked Not Meowth.

"You know as well as I do all I know is the week. When I exist during this week, my powers are stripped, and my memory erased when I leave. I can do nothing"

"Of course" Robin mumbled, taking a sip. It tasted like liquefied urinal cake, but she drank it anyways.

"Robin, you need to be sober"

"For what!? To see the man I love get his brain shot through his skull? I'm not going to do that"

"You need to protect him" Not Meowth said.

"Yeah, and I will" Robin said, "And for that I need liquid courage" With that Robin downed the entire glass, ignoring Not Meowths complaints.

* * *

"So that was fun" Rush chirped in my ear. Michael was in the bathroom, Louis and Lisa in their room (they had sex all the way up, trust me don't ask), and everyone else was out of their balls. "I always like Robin, she's nice"

"And you're insane" I growled. His smile turned into a little frown, so I licked him across the nose. _They're all here Angela, you know what you've got to do_. I sighed, and jumped onto the bed.

"Can I have your attention?" They all ignored me, talking amongst themselves. "Hey fuck-nuts, I'm trying to talk!" Suddenly all eyes were on me. "Thanks. Well guys, we won today. Because of that I...I want to say thanks to all of you in my own way" I leapt off the bed, starting with Rush.

"Rush, you were one of the first pokemon I ever met. You made the dark days of Rustburo a lot easier. You're always the nicest one of all, you always try to make people feel good, and I thank you" I moved past him, over to Titan.

"Titan, when I met you I thought you were an asshole and a pervert. I was half right, and I've never been so glad to be half right. Titan, you've made me laugh when I shouldn't, your pervy comments make me feel pretty, and you're the Juggernaut to me. I thank you for all of this" Titan blushed, and I moved on to Flash.

"Flash, you're an enigma to me. I don't know anything about you beyond your name, and that you seem to only be alive to make people feel better. You've made my darkest days happy ones. Before I met you, I wasn't grateful for my life, but you've made me love every moment of it. Thank you for that Flash" Flash smiled, and I moved on to Sharon.

"Sharon, when I met you, you thought you were a Gyarados. Now look at you, you're empress, smart as a whip, and probably the epitome of bad-ass. You've made me laugh, made me happy, and surprised me more then any single being, person or pokemon, I've ever met. Thank you for that Sharon" With that, I moved on to Bane.

"Bane, I've known you for seven months. In that time, I realized that if I had had a brother when human, I'd have wanted him to be you. We torture you with songs, but only you'd ever be willing to sit there and take it, without caving in my face. I was there when you evolved, and it was beautiful. I love you Bane" I turned and jumped onto the bed, looking down at the five of them.

"I love all of you, you know that right?" They looked back and forth at each other.

"Angela" Flash began, "What's going..." He was interrupted by Michael returning. Michael flipped off a light, and collapsed onto the bed, beside me.

"Quiet guys, I'm begging you quiet" Michael mumbled. I leapt onto his chest, letting him stroke my fur, as the others went quiet.

_You weren't thanking them Angela, you were saying good-bye. You're scared, Doomsday could be tomorrow for all you know. What do I do now?_

"Michael" I asked, "When this is over, if I survive it, what happens to us?"

* * *

Tagger looked out at the stars in the sky, warm air rushing over him. He laughed.

"It's time"


	124. Bang

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXXIV: Bang**

It had been a perfectly ordinary morning, after a perfectly ordinary night. Well, as ordinary as it can be when you're a talking Umbreon hosting the reincarnated spirit of your best friend. The thing was, it was never supposed to be anything more then the next day of the Ever Grande Finals. We had beaten Robin!

It didn't matter. I hadn't realized it, but few of my accomplishments up to that point really mattered. The battles we had one, the journey we had traveled, those things didn't matter. The relationships, the friendships, the love we had for one another, that mattered. I don't care if that sounds corny, it's the truth. I never realized it though before that day. I also didn't realize how unfair things were.

It shouldn't have ended that way. I knew Doomsday was coming, I didn't know the exact day, but I knew the week. Every day could be Doomsday for all I knew. Well it came, oh God did it come.

* * *

"What next?" The question both Michael and me had been avoiding asking one another. Our room was quiet, except for the steady hum of the air conditioning. The others were asleep, be it on our bed, on the floor, or in the arms of their beloved. I was in the arms of mine, on Michael's chest, as he scratched my giant ears.

"What do you mean? Next I assume we go to sleep" Michael said. "By the way, are you nervous about tomorrow? We're fighting Yag" Doomsday, I don't think Michael believed me, their was a joking edge in his voice. I wasn't talking about though, I was pretending it wasn't going to happen.

"No, and stop trying to change the subject. You know that isn't what I mean" I said, "What do we do after Ever Grande? Do we go to another region? Do you retire? What happens to us?" Michael sighed.

"Any other day" He began, "I'd say it wasn't the right time. The sad part is, this is definitely the right time, and I hate it" Michael paused. "I want to go to another region my self, but only if every one wants to. Louis and Lisa wont be joining us, I have no idea what they're going to do. I doubt they'll actually get married, it's to"

"Conventional?" I asked, finishing the sentience for him. Michael sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, that's the best way to describe it, just to freaking conventional" Michael said, "The two of them would be more at home in an asylum then a house. Lisa can't live in the same place for five minutes, Louis is...Louis. If they want to come with us on what ever we do next, I won't say no"

"As long as we don't all move into a big, family friendly house" I said, "That's just a bit to close to an 80's sitcom for my taste. What about the others in our group?"

"I don't know" Michael said, "Louis and Lisa as you remember had a hard time dealing with reborns, and their pokemon being reborn"

"They still dealt with it better then you did" I said, "Why did you have so much trouble with me and Bane being reborn?" Michael shrugged.

"It's...weird!" Michael said, "It's like commanding a sibling! It's just odd" I shrugged.

"I could do it"

"You're not a human who was informed about all of this by his dead best friend" Michael said. "You're a reborn who experienced it after dying! It's always going to be hard for me" He stopped ranting. "Have you talked to anyone, asked what they want to do?"

"Bane wants to open the first all pokemon musical theatre production troupe" I said, grinning. "Sharon was trying to decide whether or not she want's to be an empress anymore. Flash is an enigma, Rush will go anywhere Wisp will, and Titan and Dex will go with Sharon" Michael let out a long sigh. "What?"

"Our little group may break up one day" He said. I couldn't respond, and we both remained silent, letting the words hang in the air. I wanted to ask about what if I didn't survive? What if I died? I couldn't though, I just couldn't.

* * *

"Night time is a beautiful time" Tagger murmured to himself. "I am the tyger, hunting. I am the superior man, and I will destroy the Luccelli boy at last. I will watch Angela Duncans blood pour out of her body"

Their were three small devices clipped to Taggers belt, home made explosive devises. They were wriggled with enough nitrogen based fertilizer to blow up the entire battle arena. Only one of them would work though, the other three were designed to look like they had been improperly wired. After tomorrow, no one would care about the massacre Tagger was about to inflict. They would just be so relieved that the other two bombs didn't ignite.

"They'll be looking for the Pokemon Liberation Circle" Tagger said, "Has any one seen the Circle? Has any one seen the terrorist group that just wanted any target, that didn't specifically pick Luccelli and Duncan? No?" Tagger smiled. "Good"

His plan had been brilliant. Spend a few months mailing letters from what seemed like a group of back-woods terrorists, followed by a grainy video. They would be looking for a terrorist group, not one man with personal motivations.

Their was one guard on duty in front of the door to the battle arena. He was approximately 300 years old, held together by stubbornness and duct tape, and either asleep right now or dead. Tagger moved by him silent as a shadow. Their was no other security, the arena wouldn't be a plausible target. It wasn't a structurally integral part of the stadium, the only reason some one would blow the arena up would be to send a message.

The arena was dead silent, and Tagger's heart raced with excitement. He moved to the pedestal that the Luccelli boy would be using the next day, and pressed the button to rise it off of the ground. He only raised it a foot off of the ground, and then hopped off.

"They wont notice this at all" Tagger said, unclipping the one explosive bomb. All three had pieces of magnetic tape glued to the bottom of them, and Tagger used that to place the bomb on the underside of the platform. He then lowered it again, knowing that it would a fun day tomorrow.

* * *

"So after we're married, what do we do?" Louis asked. The two were in bed, upside down, feet on pillows. They were wearing each others shirts, nothing else. Lisa was writing in one of her books.

"I dunno"

"Come on, you must have thought about it"

Lisa didn't look up from her book, simply shrugging in response. "Nope, for once that wont do. What do you want to do once we're married?" Lisa put down the book, and smiled.

"You really want to know? Well, I was hoping Michael would go to another region, and continue doing pokemon battling. If he did, I was hoping I could battle with him"

"You want to be a trainer again?" Louis asked, surprised. "I thought you said you had no interest in it!" Lisa laughed.

"I know, it's shocking. I want to do it though" Lisa said, "I want to see the world again, I want to battle again! I want that rush again! I missed it so much that I...I didn't realize how much I missed it. Talking to you made me realize, I need to be a trainer again"

"I, wow" Louis said, "I wonder what it will be like to be the husband of a champion"

"I'm only an almost champion" Lisa said.

"I was talking about life after this next journey" Louis said, getting a laugh out of his fiancée. "You realize you would most likely have to battle Michael at some point in time" Lisa sighed.

"Yeah, I'm well aware of that, but I'm trying to think about that"

* * *

The morning came eventually, not sure when. Just suddenly sun light was stabbing me in the brain, and I hadn't slept.

Turns out I was nervous after all.

Michael snapped me back into reality, and into the morning with a loud yawn. I looked up at him with a withering glare.

"Did you sleep?"

"Of course!" I said, "Slept perfectly, heck, I'm still asleep right now!"

"No need to be snippety" Michael said, moving me off of his chest and going to the bathroom. "Our battle is the first of the day, but we've got two hours. I'm going to get showered, then we'll head down for breakfast, okay?"

* * *

BANG-BANG-BANG

The sound of pounding on her door was what greeted Robin the morning after her loss. Yawning, hung over, she dragged herself out of bed, and over to the door.

"Who could possibly want to see me now?" Robin mumbled, "If they've come to talk to me about mastur" Robin pulled the door open. "Oh shit"

"Hello Miss Dobin" Tagger said, before punching her across the jaw, knocking her unconscious.

* * *

"So who are you facing today?" Lisa asked Michael, who was shoveling around a bizarre gray-green goo that was supposed to be food. He shrugged, and took a bite.

"The other trainer, the one Lavaridge, Yag. He dresses like a pirate, speaks with a British accent, and is a damn good trainer, at least that's what I've heard. I'm not scared though" Michael smiled. "I wonder if he's a theme battler"

"A theme battler?" Louis asked, confused. "What is that?"

"A theme battler is some one who only uses one type, like a water-type" Michael said, "All pure water-type, only water-type attacks"

"So in that case, Flash would be your best bet" Michael looked over at the Ampharos who was eating a bowl of pokefood beside me.

"Yeah, but I doubt he's a theme battler, since he won all eight badges. I only wondered, because he dresses like a freaking pirate. Why a pirate?"

"I once had a gym battle dressed in wrapping paper" Lisa said. We all turned to stare at her. "Pretend I didn't say that" Sighing, I returned to my food.

"This stuff is crap" I said, "Even worse then the crap we're usually fed. Almost as bad as the crap last night"

"It's one hundred percent healthy" Flash said, "Fed to every pokemon based on their type. It's supposed to boost your abilities"

"How am I supposed to battle with this boosting crap?" I cried out. Every one looked over at me. "I know what I said" Trish flapped down beside me.

"Second day of the tournament, you must be excited" Trish said. I shrugged.

"Maybe, I dunno" I said, "Does any of this matter? If we win the tournament, will it matter?"

"What are you talking about? Of course it does!" Trish cocked her head, "Doesn't it?"

"I suppose" Pausing, I looked at the metallic bird. "Trish, you know you're my best friend, right?"

"Yeah I know Angela" Trish said, "You're my best friend also. Is something wrong"

"O-of course not!" I said nervously, "D-do you think?" Enfer sighed, and walked over.

"I'll handle this" Enfer said. She looked down at me, smiling kindly. "What's wrong Angela? You're obviously nervous" I shrugged.

"Enfer, have you ever wondered what would happen if our group split up? If we no longer saw each other every day?" Enfer took a breath, and nodded.

"Yeah, I've thought about it" Enfer said, "But the thing is, I don't know what would happen Angela. I don't know if I could live with it"

"I couldn't" I told her, "I've only known you a year, I can't loose you! I wont"

"Angela, that's"

"Attention guests and trainers" A voice piped up over the intercom, "The next battle of the Ever Grande Conference will begin in twenty minutes, will Yag of Yag and Michael Luccelli both proceed to the preparation rooms" Michael blotted his lips.

"That's us" Michael said, standing up. "Come on guys, let's go kick butt" Enfer and I had one last look.

"We'll talk later" Enfer said. As we walked away, what none of us noticed was that Michael's empty pokeball had fallen off of that damn belt I had warned him about.

* * *

Robin was jerked awake by a violent shaking. Tagger, holding her shoulders, shaking her back and forth. She cracked her eyes open.

"Glad to see your still with us" Tagger said. Robin was tapped up, duct tape around her wrists and ankles. They were bound together behind her back, and she was stuck on her stomach. The two of them were positioned on top of the south-western tower, which stared down at where Michael would be battling. Tagger had a large rifle set up on a tri-pod, with several clips stacked beside him.

"These bullets can pierce the armor of a Steelix" Tagger said, "And I've got over 200 of them. Luccelli walks out there, Angela Duncan with him, and I'm going to unload all of them into their little group. I want you to witness this Dobin" Tagger turned to Robin, his eyes wide with rage, teeth grit tight. Robin tried to back away, only to be reminded she was hog-tied.  
"You humiliated me Dobin" Tagger snarled, "And I swore I would get my revenge. Now you get to watched your friends die. Then when it's over...I'll probably kill you" Tagger laughed, before adjusting the sights on the rifle.

* * *

"What is this?" Lisa mumbled. She pulled her non-limp leg back, having placed it on Michael's vacated chair. As she did, a pokeball fell down, and rolled over to her limp foot.

"It's one of Michael's empty balls" Louis said, "I told him about that stupid belt"

"We all did after Sootopolis" Lisa said, shuddering. "We've got to get these to him, he has to have pokeballs to recall fainted pokemon" Louis stood up, and helped Lisa up. "Thanks"

"No problem. Alright, we do this fast, we get in the stands, and we get nice and plastered!" Lisa gave him a look. "At least consider it"

"Maybe" She said. The two of them began to walk off, when all of their pokemon followed them.

"Guys, just" Louis paused, "Eh, I guess you can come, it'll only take a minute"

* * *

"This is it guys" Michael whispered to us, "Let's cross the Rubicon"

"You said that last time!"

"Bite me" The door to the battle arena suddenly raised up. Michael stood up, followed behind the six of us.

"Ladies and gentlemen" The camp narrator announced, "Please welcome to the field Michael Luccelli!" Michael walked out, waving to the crowd as he did. Titan exposed himself to the cheering crowd, who of course had no idea. This time, none of them were in their balls, privilege of being in the finals.

"Look at them, cheering for my mightiness" Titan said.

"Titan, please refrain from referring to your genitals as your mightiness" Sharon said.

"Oh come on, you know you love it" Sharon stifled a smile.

"Maybe" Michael placed one foot on the trainers platform.

"That's it" Tagger mumbled, pulling out his trigger for the bomb, a modified garage-door opener.

"Michael!" Michael turned, to see Lisa and Louis hobbling towards him quickly. "You forgot these!" She shouted, holding up a handful of pokeballs" Tagger pressed the button.

"Crap thanks guys" Michael stepped off the platform as Tagger pressed the button, "You know, I"

Doomsday began.

The platform exploded, throwing Michael foreword. He hit the ground on his chest, and skidded foreword. Slowly he pushed himself up, and rubbed his head. "What the hell hit me"

"FUCK!" Tagger shouted. He then giggled insanely. "Oh well, let's try plan B" He pulled the trigger on the rifle.

The first bullet whizzed by my giant ears, and hit the cement beside me. It left a roundish hole, and several cracks in the ground. Believe it or not, I still didn't know what was going on. I knew in one second, when hell opened up.

BANG! Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang! Gun fire filled the air, along with a chorus of shrieking voices.

"Angela, move!" Enfer shrieked. I couldn't move, bullets flying through the air and I couldn't move. I had ice in my veins now, not blood, freezing me in place. The ground filled with dust as bullets hit the ground.

"Yaaaurgh!" Titan shouted out, his voice above all the others. The ground shook as he slammed into the ground.

"Fuck! Fuck!" I started shouted. Suddenly, Enfer emerged from the smoke, jumping and grabbing me in her mouth.

"Move Angel, we need to" Bang. Enfer gasped, and hit the ground, collapsing on top of me.

"Die!" Tagger shrieked "Everybody die! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha"

"Stop!" Robin screamed, tears streaming down her face, "You have to stop this now"

"Fuck you bitch"

"Lisa!" This time it was Louis's voice, "Lisa, where are y" A gun shot cut him off in mid-speech. I don't know what happened next, but suddenly, the rain of bullets stopped.

"It's done" Tagger said, grinning. Robin stared down at the massacre, before turning to Tagger.

"You monster" Robin cried, "You fucking bastard, how could you do this?" Tagger looked down at her, and smiled.

"Because I could"

* * *

I was floating, floating in a warm void. Not only that, but I felt blood coming through my leg, not on me, through me. I had been shot, oh Christ I had been shot.

"Enfer, we've gotta" I dragged myself out from under Enfer's mass. Enfer's eyes were closed, and blood streaked down her orange and cream fur. I tried nudging her, using all of my energy to do this. "Enfer wake up, you've gotta wake up!" Enfer refused to even open her eyes. "No" I turned to look at my friends. "NO!"

Everyone was collapsed, everyone in a pile. Friends on top of friends, blood pooling in the ground, holes every where.

Michael was on the far side of the pile. His bandanna was streaked with blood, and his eyes closed. Shu lay on top of him, both limp, not dead, can't be dead.

Beside him was Louis, L3, and Trish. Louis was stuck under L3, who had been shot in the back, possibly hitting Louis. Trish lay in a crater beside them, struck so hard she fell out of the sky.

Streak, Pecha, Nel, Wisp, Rush lay near them. On their stomach, sides, back, bloody, unconscious or dead. Pecha had one hand gripped on Nel's limp tail, her mouth hung agape.

Titan was on his back, Sharon in his arms, Dex I couldn't see. Titan, oh God he had holes in him. Sharon had pieces of rock embedded in her scales, and her wings weren't moving, why weren't they moving? Where the fuck was Dex?!

Flash had tried to protect Lisa, but both of them lay on top of each other in a pile of blood. I couldn't see their wounds, they were wounded though, oh God.

Bane was in front of me and Enfer, on his stomach. He jolted, eyes bolting open, looking at me. He was scared, haunted, in pain.

"A-Angela..." Bane threw up a mouth full of blood, and passed out.

I said at the beginning of this story my dear listener, I relearned a lesson that day. What I learned was that life is always precious-

"They're all dead" I whispered, tears begging to leak out of my face, "They're, oh God, It's Doomsday! It's..." Burning, blood from my side, where the bullet had struck me. Oh God. I passed out.

-And always unfair.


	125. Death and Destiny

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXXV: Death and Destiny**

I wasn't on the ground. I could sense myself being lifted off of the ground. Didn't want to be lifted, needed to be down among the dead. With my friends, or what was left of them.

"Angela, wake up" I pulled my eyes tighter, pulled my ears in. Block out the world, just fade away and you'll wake up. You'll wake up, and it'll all be a dream. Just sleep.

My brain exploded as cascading waves of pain shot through my body. I jerked up, screaming in agony. I was in Richards arms, where the hell did he come from? His finger was on my bullet wound, and he removed it.

"Had to make sure you were awake" Richard said, "You're bleeding" His voice was barely a whisper in my ears, all I could hear was an intense ringing.

"Of course I'm bleeding! I've been shot!" I screamed out, despite the fact the shooting had stopped. Suddenly, I had a better view of my surroundings, and it horrified me.

The stadium was emptying. I could see people rushing out of the stands, knocking each other over, just trying to get out. Their screaming was just a dull hum to me. I turned away from them, back to the ground.

Yag had run out, and his pokemon were looking over my friends. One of them they had ignored though.

"Enfer!" I leapt out of Richards arms, onto the ground. The impact caused me to nearly crumble, but I kept myself on all fours. "Get up" I growled, head butting her on the back. "Get up"

"Let me" Richard said. He fired a flamethrower straight at Enfer, the flames absorbed by Enfer's flash fire. After a minute, Enfer snorted, and pulled her head up. Her eyes cracked open.

"A-Angela, you're okay?" Enfer choked out. I smiled and nodded. "Oh thank God. I leapt on top of you, I needed you to be okay. I'm-I'm in bad shape, but I'll live. Help the others. I need to sleep" Enfers head hit the ground, and she passed out. She had been shot above her back leg, the same area where I'd been shot, but bullets had grazed her back. I put my ear to her chest, to verify a strong heart beat.

"I love you" I whispered, before returning my attention to Richard. "Michael, he's over there" I gestured, "I-I don't know that I can walk" Richard nodded, and helped me up. He walked me over, past my friend, I didn't look at them. My body was still in pain, and I didn't have the energy to use moonlight. Just had to get to the other side of the field.

"I'm going to set you down" Richard said. By now my hearing had returned, allowing me to hear the screams. Oh God shut them up. "Y-you need to be prepared" I nodded, and he sat me on the ground. I cracked my eyes open.

"NO" Michael was bleeding from a wound, I couldn't see where, on his back somewhere. His shirt was dyed with blood. Shu was on top of him, out cold. "Michael, wake up!" I ran over, and bit him on the ear. Michael screamed.

"Yow! Angela?" Michael asked, "Oh God, I've been shot!" Boy, he was clear headed from someone shot in back somewhere. I looked down at his shirt, and started giggling wildly.

"You've been grazed!" Their was a hole in the shoulder of his shirt. Michael's shoulder was bleeding, but he hadn't been shot in the back. "You'll be okay! Then...then whose blood is this"

"Mine" Shu said. I flipped to Shu, and I finally noticed the blood. Blood streaking his pale fur, pouring out of his chest.

"Shu? Shu stop kidding, you're fine"

"No, I'm not" Shu said. He slumped down on Michaels chest. "I'm-I'm going to see my sister Angela. Y-you remind me of her"

"I'm glad to be your sister Shu" I cried, "Please don't die on me, don't die" Shu laughed, and went limp. His life poured out of him, and he died. "S-Shu! N-n-no, y-you can't die! Goddamn it, I won't let you die, wake up you bastard, wake the fuck up!" I buried my head into his fur, sobbing.

I felt Michael's arm around my body, but I ignored him. Shu's blood and my tears ran together, until finally Michael pried my away.

"We have to help the others" Michael said.

"I don't care, I'm not leaving him!" I snarled, "Leave me alone" Michael picked me off of the ground, scooping me up in one arm. He almost dropped me, but was able to continue holding me up. I kicked against him, clawing at him, but Michael refused to let me go.

Where Louis, L3, and Trish had been, Louis was gone. A trail of blood from under L3 showed me the path of Louis. Trish was barely breathing, but she was breathing, for how long? L3 though, oh God.

L3 was dead. A hole between her eyes told me that, and her absolutely limp body. Their were other bullet holes in her back, but L3's extremely dense body had prevented all but a few from going through her. She had died protecting Louis.

"Thank you L3" Michael mumbled, bending down and closing her eyes. He and i moved on, continuing to survey the damage.

Streak was unconscious. He'd been hit in the head by a piece of rock, but otherwise he was fine. Rush and Wisp were near them, and Rush had been untouched by bullets. Thank God, he'd only been knocked out. Wisp though, oh man, Wisp had taken a bullet to the back. Her little body had almost been blown in half by the bullet. One eye was half open, and glazed over. Her mouth was open limply, her body limp. Wisp was dead.

"Help her" I yelled at Michael. Michael simply stared. "I said help her"

"And do what!? Angela, I-I can't bring her back. We-we have to move on" I cried, and nodded. We moved on, to another horrible sight.

"Wake up! The Chu demands you wake up" Pecha was alive, the blood on her was someone else's blood. Nel's blood, Nel who'd been shot. Pecha was shaking Nel's limp body, ignoring the wound.

"P-Pecha" I said, "Nel's...gone"

"No she's not" Pecha said stubbornly, "She won't leave Pecha. Pecha needs her, now Pecha demands you stand up! Up!" Pecha stopped shaking Nel, and began to cry. "No, please don't go, don't leave me alone Nel, I need my friend" Tears dribbled down her muzzle. "P-please"

We left the sobbing Chu there. What else could we do, their was nothing for us to do for Nel. We moved past her, over to Bane. Suddenly, the full impact of my situation hit me, and I did the only thing I could do in this situation.

I threw up. It was white, milky, and all over Michaels arm. Rather then scold me, he pulled me closer, stroking my back.

"Ssshhh, it's okay" Michael whispered. We moved over to Bane.

"T-Thank goodness" Bane had been shot in the lower back, and in his leg. The bleeding was slowing down in his lower back, but his left leg was hanging on by only a thread. Bane was unconscious, but his heart was beating. Bane was alive, for now.

"W-Where's Louis?" Michael asked. I looked around, and gestured.

"I don't know" I said. "But Titan, Titan and Sharon, look!" We turned to the far side of the disaster zone.

Titan had bullet holes in him, but only a few were bleeding. It almost seemed like they'd left him unaffected. Dex was on his chest, wailing. Sharon was in his arms, a bullet hole through one of her goggled eyes. Her dragonfly body was unmoving, and Titan didn't say a thing.

"Titan?" Michael called. Titan's head snapped up, and we both jumped. His face was contorted in rage, absolute blinding, seething rage. Titan looked at us for only a moment, before returning his attention to Sharon.

"Look" Michael said, pointing, "I-It's Louis. Oh no" Louis, Flash, and Lisa had fallen in the same place. Flash had been shot in the chest, both of his eyes were open and his head was up. I-I know he was alive, but if he didn't get medical attention, he'd die soon.

Louis was sitting up, bleeding from a wound in the side. Lisa's head was on his lap, and he was stroking her hair.

"You're my everything" Louis mumbled, "I swear, when we get married, it'll be the happiest day of both our lives. You'll see, I'll spend every moment making you happy. Nothing bad will happen, never again" Lisa was pale, her body limp on Louis. Their were bullet wounds in her stomach, wounds that had caused her to bleed to death. Louis looked up at the sky.

"Aaaaahhhhh! Aaaaaahhhhhh"

* * *

The paramedics had taken to long to get to us, having to get through crowd to us, and then drag us off. I blacked out again at some point in time, but when I was awake, Michael had been taken care of, and we were sitting outside of an operating room.

"W-what's happening?" I mumbled. My bullet wound was healed, and I was no longer in pain. Michael's shoulder had been bandaged, and he was in a clean shirt.

"Did you know those machines they put you into, they can heal tissue" Michael said, "They can bring most pokemon back from the brink of death. They can't do it though if the bullets are still there. They said they can't help Flash because their are bullet fragments to close to his heart. All they can do is make what time he has left comfortable"

"No! They have to help him! They...wait, if they can't, operate, who are they operating on?"

"They can't heal all kinds of tissue" Michael said, "Serious nerve damage they can't fix easily. They can mend broken bones instantly. They can't regrow them though, and they can't re-attach limbs. Limbs that were barely hanging on"

"B-Bane. Bane's in there"

"They healed his stomach already, but his leg is badly damaged"

"They can't!"

"If they don't, it'll get infected, and he'll die"

"You can't cut off Bane's leg!" I snarled. Michael looked down at me, rage in his eyes.

"What choice do I have? It doesn't matter, I gave my consent"

"You can go to hell" I screamed. Michael smacked me, upside my little black head. "What the fuck was that for?"

"You think this doesn't bother me?" Michael asked, "My closest friends died today. I had to tell Louis that the woman he loved wouldn't ever wake up. I had to select a coffin so that tomorrow I can bury Sharon in the pokemon cemetery, and I had to select five more. I can't deal with you to Angela, I just can't"

I stared at Michael, dumbfounded. I pulled myself up, and licked him across the nose.

"Your right, and I'm sorry. I-We will get through this Michael, but we can't get mad at each other. We have to support each other" He hugged me tight against his chest.

"You're right" Michael mumbled. Suddenly, the door opened, as the nurses wheeled Bane out on a gurney. He was barely conscious, mumbling something in his sleep.

"Oh God" Bane's left leg stopped above the knee. Now their was a bandage, where their should have been leg. The nurse beside him said something about prosthetics, but I didn't hear it. I couldn't hear anything, all I could do was stare.

* * *

"A-Angela?" Flash mumbled. His fur was messed up, his body limp, his eyes sunken in. Wires looped around Flash, various things hooked into his chest. All of my friends who were still alive were on beds like this, in a row, with the same things hooked up to them. Even Titan, in a reinforced bed. I was on his bed, right beside him. I smiled.

"I-I'm right here Flash"

"I'm dying" He stated.

"W-We don't know that" I stammered. Flash shook his head.

"I'm not Flash" Flash said to me, "Angela, my real name was Tobin. Can you remember that?" I nodded. "Good. If you ever meet a Ampharos named Joran, I need you to tell him something"

"Any thing"

"Tell him I'm sorry" Flash said. He began to cry, "Tell him Tobin didn't mean to kill his mate and kit"

"...What?"

"I told you he killed mine. I-I lied. Tell him I'm s-sorr" Flash's eyes began to roll back.

"Michael!" I screamed. Michael, who'd been out of the room getting water, came rushing back in.

"F-Flash?" I turned, to see Trish pick her head up. Flash's body spasms violently for a second, then went limp. His heart monitor flat lined, and our party shrunk by one more.

"No, please" Trish whispered. I leapt over, to her bed. Trish turned her metallic head to me, looking me in the eye. "I loved him Angela, fuck I want to die. Please, let me die"

"You're going to live Trish"

"But I don't want to" Trish said. "Angela, you want to know why I was always the observer, never the member of groups?"

"Why?" Trish sobbed.

"B-because when you're on the outside, you can't get hurt. When you just look at things, and are never a part of them, they can't hurt you. I join your little group though, and I get clobbered. It hurts Angela"

"I-I know" By now a medical team had rushed into the room, more or less to tell us what we already knew. Flash was dead, Flash was never coming back. Their was nothing they could do about it.

"W-where is Louis?" Trish stammered.

"They sewed him up, and took him to view, uh, Lisa. Lisa was killed, Shu was killed, L3, Wisp, Sharon, Nel, Flash, they're all dead because of some psycho" No, can't think about them now.

"W-Who did it?" Trish asked.

"We don't know" I said. "It was someone evil though, absolutely evil"

_The psycho in the Gyarados mask, that night in the woods. The first turning point of your life. Everything is connected._

"We have to get him" Trish cried, "I have to get him, to tear his eyes out for-for what he's done to us. I'll make sure the ground is soaked with his blood, I swear it"

I didn't doubt it. I couldn't talk with her anymore though. I jumped off the bed, back onto the ground. Trish fell asleep after a moment, the days events more or less knocking her out.

Everyone was asleep. Michael by now had even passed out in a chair. I was numb by now, a part of me dying. I hated Ever Grande, but not a burning hatred. A cold hatred, and the knowledge that a once sacred place to me had been desecrated.

One occupant was still awake though. I walked over to the extra large, reinforced bed, where Titan was.

They'd plugged all the holes, the bullets hadn't done much to Titan. His right horn was almost gone though, it wouldn't come back. Dex was on his belly, asleep.

"What do you want?" Titan growled.

"I wanted to see how you were" I jumped up to him.

"How the fuck do you think I am?" Titan said, in a defeated voice. "Sharon died, died shielding Dex. I could have protected them both"

"Their was nothing you could do"

"Their was a million fucking things I could have done!" Titan screamed. He stopped, all emotion draining from him again. "What does it matter though? Sharon is dead, Dex is all I have left. I'm going to raise him right Angela"

"I believe you" I said sympathetically.

"The way Sharon would have wanted" Titan said, "All for her, I'll raise the boy she would have wanted. So he can become Emperor. That means he has to be raised in the village" Titan looked at me, "I want to leave the group"


	126. Two Days and Two Nights

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXXVI: Two Days and Two Nights**

"You want to leave the group!?" I exclaimed, "You can't!" Titan snorted.

"Of course I can" Titan said, "I can do anything I want, you can't stop me" He pushed himself up on his bed.

"Why would you even want to return to the village? Sharon hated it" I said.

"She didn't hate the village" Titan said, "Not nearly as much anymore. Sharon, Sharon had been feeling guilty lately. She did hate the village once, but traveling with us had made her change her mind. Sharon said that it had restored her faith, or some shit like that. I'm going to take Dex back, to raise him like she would have wanted"

"I don't think she wanted that" I said.

"You didn't know her like I did" Titan said, "No one did. I loved her, more then I loved myself"

"Titan, we need to stay together, if only for each other" I argued.

"You need it" Titan whispered. "I need to get as far away from here. Tell Michael, or I'll leave on my own. Then stay the hell away from me" With that, Titan lay back, and refused to say another word.

I returned to Michael, who was finally asleep. I think the events of the day had more or less knocked him out cold. I leapt into his lap, not even stirring him, only to be woken up almost instantly.

"Michael Luccelli?" Michael cracked his eyes open, to see an orderly beside him. "Mr. Luccelli? Do you know as Ms. Robin Dobin?"

"Yeah, I know Robin" Michael said wearily. "Why?"

* * *

"She's been checked in. Ms. Dobin is alright, but her arm is broken, and she's been attacked" Michael leapt up, knocking me onto my side on the floor.

"She's okay? Thank God, where is she?"

"Robin?" Michael asked, "It's me, Michael. Can you hear me?" Robin was laying in a bed, unconscious. Her left arm was in a cast held up, and her face was severely bruised. Robin's upper lip was cut, and her right eye swollen. She cracked her other eye open, and smiled.

"Hey" Robin rasped. "Sorry about...it"

"You know what happened to me?" Michael cried out, "How?"

"I-I saw on the TV set" Robin said, lying through her broken teeth, "I was going down to see you when, I'm not sure what happened. They think I got knocked down and trampled" I found out a couple of days later just how Robin escaped from Tagger, and why she lied to us, but I'll talk about that later.

"It's okay" Michael said, stroking her hair. "I'm just-just glad you're okay. It has been the longest day of my life, just having you here makes it a lot easier"

"Thanks" Robin whispered. "How-Do they know who did it?"

"They said the attack wasn't directed against me personally" Michael said, "Some nut Pokemon group. I wasn't the target, I was just some fucking moron who got caught in a psychos cross-hairs. They said they found two bombs that didn't go off, if they had things probably would have been a lot worse then they were"

"You're strangely positive" Robin said.

"I have to be. I have to look on the bright side. If I don't, I'll go crazy. I have to be positive, no matter how sick I feel. Despite the fact I get to go to several funerals tomorrow. I can't be sad, I have to be strong"

"Not always Michael" Robin whispered, "Some times you can't be strong. You've got to just..." Her eyes drooped, and Robin passed out.

"Sleep tight Robin" Michael whispered, bending down and kissing her on the forehead. "Come on Angela, lets let her rest"

"Al-Alright" I said. As we headed out of Robin's room, my mind was swimming. Why had Robin been beaten up? She was clearly lying about how she got hurt, why do it? Also, how do I tell Michael about Titan leaving the group?

* * *

Our room was still quiet. Flash's body had been removed awhile ago, and Trish had finally cried herself asleep. Rush had yet to wake up, when he did we'd have to tell him about everyone.

"It's days like this that make you wish you were dead" Michael said, sitting down in his chair. I leapt up into his lap, and he began to stroke my fur. "What gets me is that I wasn't a target. I was just a fucking example by some psycho with a gun. They didn't hate me, they just needed a random target"

"I know" I said, "Titan wants to leave the group"

"What!?"

* * *

I spent the next twenty minutes explaining everything I knew about Titan's reasons to Michael. During the entire time he didn't protest, didn't raise his voice, didn't even talk. He just sat there, dumbfounded. Finally, I finished my speech, and waited for Michaels response.

"Fine" Michael said.

"Excuse me?" I cried out.

"Fine. If Titan wants to leave, let him leave" I started to protest, but Michael put his hands around my muzzle and closed my mouth. "Angela, when you died, I had to get away from home. As far away from home as possible. If Titan needs to do that, then lets let him do it"

"Okay smart guy, here's a good question. How do we even get Titan back to the village?"

"I don't know" Michael said, "I'm sure will figure out something. The point is"

"Aaaaaaaahhhhh! Oh my God! Oh fuck! What the fuck happened!? Oh God! Aaaaahhhhh!" I took off like a shot from Michael's lap, to the source of the screaming. To Bane.

Bane had finally woken up from his semi-comatose state, finally seeing his missing leg. He was screaming, his eyes jerking around wildly. I jumped onto his lap as Michael rushed up behind me. Bane finally stopped screaming when he saw the two of us.

"What the fuck happened?" Bane screamed. I translated it. Best if I let Michael handle things.

"You were shot" Michael said, "They, the shooter caught you in the leg. They asked for my permission to remove it, and I gave it"

"You gave it!?" Bane shouted. "You did this to me" He thrust his left stump up in the air, displaying it for us. "I hate you! I'll kill you" Bane tried firing an aura sphere at us, but do to his lack of energy, the sphere went wild and smashed into the ceiling.

This is what finally got the attention of the hospital. In a minute, they were in our room, and filled Bane's IV with enough drugs to knock out a Rhydon. Bane squirmed for just a minute, but finally passed out cold.

"Uh, sorry about that" The doctor said. "You will be able to take your Lucario out tomorrow, but not away from Ever Grande. We've got a temporary prosthetic leg for him ready to go, but it'll take some time to get a permanent one attached"

"Alright, thank you" Michael mumbled. The doctors left and Michael went back to his chair. I stayed on Bane's bed, watching the Lucario sleep. I stood up and walked up to his head.

"I'm sorry" I whispered, kissing him on the top of the head. "I really am"

"Angela, what's going on?" Rush asked. Oh crap. I looked over at Michael who was asleep again, and their was no way in hell I'd be able to wake him up. So that meant...great.

I jumped over from Bane's bed to Rush's. Rush was looking around, more stupid and confused then usual.

"Where is Wisp? Where is Flash, L3, Nel, Sharon, and Shu?" Rush asked. Of course he'd ask that question.

"Rush, are you okay? You feel okay?" I asked, "You're calm? You're ready for what I'm about to tell you. Because, I don't think you are"

"I'm ready" Rush said, "What happened?" I gulped.

"Rush, Wisp is dead" I said, waiting for the reaction to effect the little Mudkip.

"Oh. Okay" Rush said. I raised an eye ridge. "I guess everyone else is dead also?"

"Yes..."

"Okay" Rush said. "When is the funeral?"

"When is the funeral!?" I cried, "Your friends are dead, and your only reaction is when is the fucking funeral?"

"Soon?" Rush chirped.

"Tomorrow! What is wrong with you? You robot, why are you not crying!?" Bane smiled.

"Why should I cry? You only cry if death is the end, and it isn't the end. Death isn't dying, it's just going somewhere else. They're physically gone, but not permanently. Some day I'll join Wisp and Shu, and everyone else. For now though they'll live on in me. Why should I be sad?"

Now it was my turn to stare at Rush, stunned by the surprise logic and reason of Rush's little speech. Rush licked me across the nose.

"I'm going back to sleep, wake me up tomorrow when we bury them" With that, Rush curled up into a ball and fell asleep.

* * *

Funerals are horrible, but this was just to horrible. Small coffins in a row, five white coffins. L3, Wisp, Nel, Shu, and Flash. Sharon would be taken with Titan back to his village, to bury her there. Lisa would be buried...I don't know where.

"I hate this damn thing" Bane whispered, looking at his fake leg. "I want to smash it into a million pieces"

"I know" I whispered, "I hate it here also" Their were guards around the cemetery, keeping members of the media far away from us. Fog hung in the air, wrapping around all of us. The holes for all of the coffins had already been dug, the coffins placed, and a shovel left beside them to fill in the holes.

"I-I can't be here" Titan said.

"I don't care, you're going to be here, or I'll kick your ass" I said. "Now shut up" We stood around L3's coffin.

Louis was with us, for the first time in days. He was wearing sunglasses, leaning on the shovel he had. Enfer was beside him, and she looked drained. She lifted her head up, giving me a look at her sunken in eyes.

"Hey" Enfer whispered.

"Hey" I replied.

"Is their anything you need to say?" Michael asked Louis. He shook his head.

"Thanks L3" Louis whispered, and he began to fill the hole in again. As he did, we heard footsteps behind us. We turned, to see Robin and Celest coming up behind us.

"Did I miss anything?" Robin asked in a soft voice.

"Robin? How are you out of bed? Should you even be out of bed?"

"I shouldn't be a lot of things" Robin replied, "And yet I am. I know you need any help for this day you can"

"Thanks Robin" Michael said.

I know you want me to describe the funeral for you my dear listener, but I simply can't do it. I can't and I wont. To this day that day was still one of the worst of my life, and I have no interest in reliving it again.

After it was over, Michael stood in front of Flash's grave, looking at in, not saying a word. What was their to be said?

"Are you doing okay?" Robin asked.

"No, of course not" Michael said, "How could I be in this situation?" Robin put her good arm around his shoulder.

"Life will get better" Robin said, "Some day it will, I promise" Michael smiled.

"Thanks" Louis had left us by now, along with his and Lisa's pokemon. Robin turned to Celest.

"Celest has the ability to teleport Michael. I want you to use him to take your pokemon who want to leave the group back to their homes" Michaels head snapped around.

"How did you know about that?" Michael asked.

"Don't ask how I know these things" Robin said, "Just know that I know them. You understand that, right?" Of course not! Though, at this point in time, I think it was just better to smile and nod.

"Okay" Michael said, turning to Titan. "Titan, are you absolutely sure of this? You want to do this?" Titan growled his assurance. "Okay, let's go get Sharon's body"

Louis watched us as we headed out of the cemetery. He could see us from his hospital room. He needed to make sure we couldn't see him.

"It'll be easier that way" Louis said to Enfer. "Michael can take care of Streak, Trish, and Pecha. I...I just need out" Enfer stared at him from the bed, eyes cold.

"If you think I'll abandon my daughter, even for you" Enfer growled, "You're out of your fucking mind"

"I got us a seat on the ship to Johto, first class" Louis said. "We'll sail to Lillycove first. All I had to do was mention Joseph Adalian was my father to get the seat. We'll g-go to Lillycove, then to Mauville, and bury Lisa" Louis teared up, "It's what she would have wanted" Louis buried his head between his knees, sobbing.

* * *

Sharon's body didn't have a coffin. It was wrapped in a white sheet, that Titan now held in his arms. Just looking at it seemed to hurt him, but he didn't say a thing. Titan just continued to stare at Sharon's body.

"Are we ready?" Robin asked. The traveling party would consist of Titan, Dex, Michael, Robin, Celest, Bane, and me. Bane kept tapping his fake leg against the ground.

"I hate this thing" He mumbled.

"Titan, are you ready?" Michael asked. Titan nodded. He turned to Celest, but didn't say a word. Celest's head began to glow blue.

"I understand" Suddenly, everything turned white, as we were teleported away.

If anyone asks you if teleporting is fun, slap them silly. It isn't fun. It's a freaking nightmare. Imagine every atom in your body being ripped apart, then flung through the air, through walls, for thousands of miles instantly.

"Oh God" I moaned, my head feeling like someone had put it in a blender. I took one step, fell over, and rolled into a log.

"Angela, are you okay?" Michael asked. I threw up. "Okay, good" He turned to Titan, who was looking through the woods, towards where the village was. Titan looked up at Dex, resting between his horns.

"Translate for me Angela" Titan said, "And translate fast, because I'm only going to say it once. Tell me when you're ready"

"I'm ready" I said. "You can begin"

"Michael, I want to thank you" We said, "When you captured me, I thought it was the worst thing to ever happen to me. You made it good though. You made me stronger, you got me to do things I never thought I could possibly do. Traveling with you, I met Sharon, my love eternal. I saw places that most pokemon only dream of, I won battles, I beat that damn dragon.

It was because of you I've experienced what will forever be the best moments of my life. In spite of what has happened, I will remember this last year as the happiest ever. This is hard for me and Dex, it is. We have to leave though, as happy as being part of this group has made us, we've simply got no more here. I'm sorry. I love all of you, good-bye"

"Thanks Titan" Michael said. He moved foreword and hugged the giant stone juggernaut. Titan responded by barely touching him with one arm, for fear of crushing Michaels spine. He let go, and with one last wave, Titan walked into the woods, and out of my life forever.

"Bye Titan" I whispered. I should have been crying, but after the day before, their was nothing left for me to cry. All I could do is stare, until we stood silently in the woods.

"That was intense" Robin said.

"I know" Michael said.

"You're not sad?"

"If that's what makes Titan happy, then I can't be sad" Michael said, "So I guess we"

"I understand" Celest said. We flipped, to see him looking at Bane.

"Wait, what?" I cried, as things went white again.

* * *

Back in our room, every one was asleep again, including Trish and Streak who no longer had trainers. The only ones awake were Rush, and Pecha.

"Rush?" Pecha asked, "Rush are you awake?"

"I'm always awake" Rush said, "Even when I'm asleep I'm awake. I'm Kipilishiss!" Pecha hopped over to the bed of the little kip. She crawled up, and curled up beside him. Rush could feel her trembling.

"I'm scared Rush" Pecha whispered, bottom lip trembling. "I-I'm alone Rush. Nel...Nel was my friend! Waaahhhhh! Waaahhhhh!" Rush licked Pecha on the nose, getting her to stop crying. Pecha looked at the Mudkip, and embraced him. "Prom-Promise me you won't ever, ever l-l-leave muh-me alone!"

"I promise" Rush whispered to the sobbing Chu, "I won't ever leave you alone"

* * *

Did we go back to the hospital, back to Ever Grande? Of course not. No, instead we reappeared in-between what looked like two mountains, on a path cut between them. The mountains towered above us, covered in a thick coating of plants.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"At the entrance to the valley that hosts my village" Bane said, "I'm going home"

"What!?" We all cried.

"You don't know my reasons for leaving" Bane said. "When I left, I said I wasn't going to come back until I was stronger. Well, I'm stronger" Bane smiled softly, "I'm stronger then I've ever been. For that reason, it's time to go"

"You can't!" Michael cried, after I translated. Bane shrugged.

"I can do what I want Michael, if you take me with you, I will hate you forever. I need to leave Michael, you said you understood when Titan left"

"This is different!" Michael cried.

"Why?"

"Only Titan was leaving" Michael snarled, "That's what makes it different" Bane laughed, and leaned against a rock.

"You're scared aren't you?" Bane asked, as I translated. "You're scared that your little group is falling apart, and you can't do anything" Michael's face began to turn red.

"Michael, let him speak his mind" Robin said, trying to calm him down.

"You need momma to talk for you little boy?" Bane asked.

"That's it" Michael swung, and Bane dropped. Instead, Michael slammed his fist into the rock. At first nothing happened, then Michael began to twitch. "That hurt"

"Then hit me again" Bane said, "If you can, little boy" Michael swung with his other fist, and made contact! Only to realize Bane is metal, and it probably hurt less to punch the rock.

Michael collapsed to the ground, nursing his hands. Bane bent over, looking at Michael in the face.

"Sorry about that" Bane said, I translated. "I just, figured if I didn't get all of the angry out of you, you'd never let me go. I am going though, and I hope we can leave as friends. What do you say?" He held out a paw. Michael grabbed it, and pulled Bane into the ground.

"Friends" Michael said, pushing himself back up. "I don't know what you hope to accomplish by returning here, but I hope you succeed"

"So do I" Bane said. He removed his prosthetic leg, "I don't want this" He tossed it into the air, and destroyed it with an aura sphere. "I'll learn to succeed on my own" He pulled a piece of wood off of the growth on the rock, leaning on it"

"Bye guys" Bane said, "Its been fun" With that, Bane leaning on his branch walked away from our group.

"It's only you and Rush now" Michael whispered, "And if you guys leave me, I'll wring your neck"

"I'll let you" I said, turning to Celest, "Lets go back"

_

* * *

_

I've got to get out

The only thought going through Enfers mind, as she stood in line beside Louis. She needed to escape and get back to Louis. Except, since Louis pulled out his boat tickets, she'd been unable to escape. He'd been with her every moment of the way, from getting on the elevator, to getting in the taxi.

_I need to get out. I need you here now, I'm calling you_

"This is why many of my kind don't reveal our existence to those we protect" All of the people in line had frozen instantly. Enfer turned to see Not Shroomish floating beside her. "The Meowth that guards your daughter convinced me to make contact with you. Despite the fact that she told you about her guardians existence, a big no no"

"Why is it such a big no no for all reborns to know all other reborns have one of you guarding us?" Enfer asked.

"That's not the point!" She shrieked. "The point is...I don't even know what the point is. What do you need?"

"I need you to teleport me back to the hospital" Enfer said, "And warp Louis's mind so he doesn't know I'm gone"

"I officially can't do that" Not Shroomish said, "It violates many of our rules, it directly interferes with the life of another"

"So you're not going to help me?" Enfer asked.

"I didn't say that" Not Shroomish said, "What I said was, I can't help you officially. Unofficially, you've been my favorite charge Ms. Enfer. Louis will forget you ever existed, if you are sure" Enfer shot a glance at Louis.

"I am"

"Alright then" Not Shroomish said, "I hope you're ready Anna"

* * *

When we finally returned to the Hospital, the sun had set a while ago. It was almost midnight now.

We reappeared in Robins room. Robin looked like she was about to fall asleep at that moment, and Celest was running on fumes.

"Thanks Robin" Michael said. "It...You made things a lot easier for me"

"Your welcome" Robin said, a weak smile on her face. "I-I need sleep. I'll see you tomorrow"

"Of course" The two moved in, like they were going to kiss. I bit Michael once on the ankle. "Angela stop it"

"She's right, I need sleep" Robin said, leading us out. We paused in the doorway. "Bye"

The door shut loudly behind us, and Michael leaned against the door. He was hurting pretty badly, but I didn't know how to help.

"Lets go see Louis" I suggested, "Maybe he can make things a little better"

"Maybe" Michael said. "Yeah, lets head over there" As we turned around the hallway, Enfer appeared where we stood.

"Angela? Her room, I gotta get to her room" She took off in the opposite direction.

We came to Louis's room quickly enough, or at least what should have been Louis's room. Michael pushed the door open.

"Louis? I wanted" The lights were off, so Michael flipped them on. "Louis? Oh crap" The room was empty. All except for one sheet on the bed, ripped from one of Lisa's books. Michael picked it up.

"What does it say?" I asked. Michael just shook his head, and crumpled it up.

"Bullshit" Michael snarled, "Louis left us while we were gone. He didn't want to make a damn scene! Well guess what, he made a damn scene!" Michael collapsed on the bed, with me beside him. "It just, it feels like everything is crumbling around me"

* * *

Tagger hadn't just created the Pokemon Liberation Circle to keep the police from thinking the boy was specifically targeted. The police would post security, to keep the media out. They wouldn't however keep the boy guarded, because he wasn't the target.

No, he was just an unfortunate victim. Sadly, this meant that Tagger had to kill the Luccelli boys family also, the other survivors. He could send some letter about setting an example, or some shit, it didn't matter.

Tagger still had plenty of ways to get information, one of those ways had told him which room the Luccelli boy was in. His cousin, the Adalian, was in a closer room. Better take him out first.

"Adalian? Any chance related to Joey Adalian?" Tagger mumbled to himself as he moved through the hall, nurses and patients ignoring him. "Of course not" He came to the room. Reaching into his jacket, he felt his gun. Cold, ready for what was coming.

* * *

"I know" I said to Michael, "But it isn't. You've still got me! So what if we lost some people, they're not dead, just somewhere else. We'll rebuild, we'll create a new group" Michael smiled.

"Thanks Angela" Michael whispered.

"Yes, thank you very much" We both turned, to see Not Meowth. Wait, Michael could see him also?! I looked, yep Michael could see him.

"W-who are you?" Michael asked.

"I'm no one" Not Meowth said, "I'm no one who didn't just cause a tree to grow outside this window, a tree that will allow you to climb down to ground level. I'm also not the guy whose telling you that in ten seconds, a man named Jerry Tagger will enter your room and kill both of you if you do not leave now"


	127. My Mother The Queen

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXXVII: My Mother The Queen**

Tagger gripped the door handle cautiously. The metal was cold, but the handle was loose. His breathing slowed to the point it was almost unnoticeable.

_This is it_

One hand on his gun and one on the door, Tagger flipped the door open. He swung his gun towards the bed, only to see it empty.

"What the?" Tagger then turned his attention to the open window, but more specifically the face he saw briefly climbing down it.

Luccelli, wearing his back pack, with an Umbreon head sticking out of it. Angela Duncan, that was her. He had to kill them now.

"Die!" Tagger fired at the tree, right at Luccelli's face dropped. The bullets landed in the tree, missing the boy. Although he should have been enraged, Tagger laughed at this instead. He calmly walked to the window, and looked down.

The boy had shimmied down at an astonishingly quick speed. He was almost to the bottom, Tagger would loose him if he climbed down the tree.

"Fucking bastard" Tagger murmured. He unclipped one of his three pokeballs.

"I've removed all security guards" Not Milotic whispered in Taggers ear, "And I've made it impossible for anyone to find you, the boy, or Angela unless they're looking for you. You will have no interruptions, now go"

Tagger released his Skarmory, which cawed excitedly. He climbed on the metal birds back.

_The Final Hunt Begins_

* * *

Enfer stopped in mid-jog. The scent, she could smell Michael and Angela. It was coming from behind her. She spun around, nose in the air. Enfer followed it until she came to Louis's open door.

She came to see Tagger, flying out the window. Going after Angela and Michael. "Get away from them!" Enfer screamed, running and lunging out the window. She bit down, onto the Skarmorys tail razor.

"What they!?" Tagger turned back, to see Enfer. "An Arcanine? Where did..." It clicked, Tagger could see who the Arcanine was. "You"

"You're going down" Enfer growled. "Even if I have to die" The Skarmory began to dip.

Behind Ever Grande Stadium and the hospital are a series of warehouses. When their isn't a tournament, all of the stuff is stored in the twelve warehouses. During the tournament, their is heavier security due to the larger numbers of people.

* * *

"We just have to find a security guard" I said, "Or some kind of protection" Since the warehouse was closer then the arena, it was logical to go there first.

Surrounding the warehouses was a stone wall, which had a hole for people to enter. We ran through it, expecting to see security guards, or cameras, or anything.

"Angela?" Michael asked.

"I...keep running" All of the rows looked the same, gray concrete streets with warehouses on both sides. Security cameras were on each corner of the warehouses, but for some reason, they were disengaged.

"Angela, their is no one here" Michael said. The spot lights that should have been lit up were dark. I could no longer hear noise from the arena, why could I no longer hear noise?

"I-I don't know, let's get out of here" We made our way to the other side, to the other exit from the warehouse area. We ran through, and found ourselves back at the beginning.

"...What in the fuck!?" Michael cried. He turned, ran out again, only to end up where we started again. Michael turned to run out yet again.

"Stop" I said, "If she wanted us out of here, we would be out" I said. Michael looked down at me, confused.

"If who wanted us out of here?"

"Not Milotic" I whispered.

* * *

"Get off" Tagger growled, pistol whipping Enfer. Enfer refused to let go, despite Tagger doing a barrel roll. "Okay, lets try this"

Tagger flew, straight at the warehouse area, going lower and lower as he did. Enfer couldn't see the stone wall, so she had no way to avoid it when her lower body was slammed into it.

Enfer was finally forced to let go, seeing stars as she fell to the ground. Slowly, she lifted her head up again, but Tagger was gone.

"You think you're going to get away from me that easily?" Enfer growled, running into the warehouse area.

* * *

"We've got to find a way out of here" I yelled, as we ran down the concrete street.

"I know" Michael said.

"I don't think you do" I replied, "You don't get it, if Not Milotic wants me dead, then" A loud screech filled the air. We looked up, to see a Skarmory in the air, and a man drop from its back.

THUMP!

In front of us stood a behemoth of a man. His body was solid, as if it were made purely from meat. His hair was black, cut shorter then you would expect. His face was unremarkable, other then it was cold. His eyes though, they seemed to glow in the night. They were empty eyes, empty so much that when I looked into them, I saw into him. I saw who he was.

"...Tagger" I whispered.

"That's right" Tagger said, "You know my name" I don't know how he could understand me, but then again, I don't know why we couldn't leave.

"Okay fucker" Michael growled, pulling his fist back, "Lets dance" Michael swung, but Tagger dipped back, causing Michael to miss. Tagger then pistol whipped Michael in the back of the skull.

"NO!" Michael hit the ground, out cold. Tagger then turned his attention to me, gotta think fast. I powered up a shadow ball, and fired.

The shadow ball was weak, and Tagger simply took the attack, taking no noticeable damage. I turned to run, when I felt it. A thick hand, clasped around my neck, I couldn't breath.

Tagger lifted me off of the ground, turning me around so I faced him. He was smiling, a completely insane smile. With his other hand, he pointed his gun at my head.

"You don't know how long I've waited" Tagger whispered, "I've waited for this for over a year" He placed his finger on the trigger. "You escaped twice bitch, you wont escape again"

"Leave her alone you son of a bitch" Enfer screamed. She unleashed a torrent of fire, hitting Tagger on the back, causing him to drop me.

"Aaahhh! Ah ha ha ha ha" Tagger pointed his gun at Enfer. "So Anna, come to try to kill me? You forget I killed you once, and I'll gladly do it again"

Enfer ran and lunged at Tagger, unleashing a fire blast in mid-air. Tagger twirled out of the way, and fired his gun, hitting pavement. Enfer fired a flame thrower, this time catching Tagger in the arm.

"Arugh! It'll take a lot more then that bitch" Tagger snarled. Enfer though, not wanting to disappoint, jumped on Tagger.

Tagger hit the ground hard, as Enfer dug her claws in. When he landed, his left hand, his gun hand, ended up pinned under his body. His right hand thrust out, catching Enfer in the throat, holding her snapping fangs an inch from his face.

"This is it" Enfer growled, embers leaking from her mouth, "You"

WHAM! Taggers Skarmory swooped down and hit Enfer in the side, sending her sprawling across the ground. Tagger jumped up, but didn't fire his gun. Rather, he opened a second pokeball.

Ignoring Tagger, Enfer locked eyes with the Skarmory. The Skarmory flung its body at Enfer, only to feel Enfer's flames consume it. Skarmory lasted about two seconds before hitting the ground with a clang!

Enfer then returned her attention to Tagger. Across from her he stood, smirking, twirling his gun in his left hand. She felt the fire burning within her, time to act.

"Die!" Enfer ran at Tagger, jaws open, barely noticing the rumbling under her feet. "Whu?" Enfer skidded to a stop, as the concrete below her crumbled, and Garchomp emerged. Before Enfer could escape, the dragon had wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in tight.

Tagger laughed, and walked over to the squirming Arcanine. Enfer prepared a flame-thrower, only to feel Garchomp squeeze tighter. I should have ran at Tagger, fought the Garchomp, gotten Enfer free. My body though, was now lead, and I was a prisoner to this horror show.

"This is the end Anna" Tagger whispered, walking to her, spinning his gun. "I've killed you once, now I'm going to do it again" Enfer smirked. "...What?"

"Your entire life, you wanted to be a superior man" Enfer whispered, "But none of it mattered. You know why?"

"Why?" Tagger growled, pointing his gun at her belly. Enfer laughed softly.

"Because, despite your connections, your influence, your muscles, and what ever other thing you have, I've still one" Enfer locked eyes with him. "I hid Chris from you, you son of a bitch, and you've never been able to find her" Tagger's veins in his neck bulged for a second, but then flattened out. With a stone cold voice, Tagger uttered one word.

"Die" He fired, shooting Enfer in the stomach. Enfer's eyes bulged for one second, as the bullet struck her in the abdomen. Suddenly, I had control of my body.

"N-NOOOOO" I ran, ran towards Enfer. Garchomp dropped her, and slunk back into the ground. I buried my head in Enfers side, blood from her wound pouring over my snout. I didn't care, she had to be okay, I would make her okay.

"I could kill you right now" Tagger said, poising the gun at my head. He flipped the gun inside his pocket. "But then, that would be the act of an inferior man" Tagger pointed to a warehouse back and to the left of us. "I'll be waiting. You can't leave, neither of us can until one of us is dead. I look foreword to our final battle" With that, Tagger turned and walked away, as if nothing had happened.

I didn't care. For once, I didn't care at all about Tagger. No, all of my attention was on Enfer. Enfer, bleeding, dying. Enfer, breathing labored.

"A-Angela" Enfer wheezed.

"I'm here" I cried to Enfer, facing her. Enfer smiled gently. By now I was sobbing, but I was barely aware of it. Their was nothing else in the world but Enfer and I. Enfer licked me across the nose.

"Don't cry" Enfer whispered. "I don't want my last moments to see you sad"

"It's not you're last moment" I cried out, "You're still alive. I swear to you, I wont let you die. Please, don't die Enfer" I whispered, "Don't die"

"Angela, I have to tell you something"

"D-Don't talk, save your energy" I whispered.

"I can't Angela" Enfer said, "I have to, have to-to tell you this"

**Seventeen Years Ago**

Anna Kendle needed something to calm her nerves. Sadly, due to the pregnancy, caffeine and alcohol were out, so water would have to suffice.

Sipping her drink softly, Anna moved back out to where Marcus lay dead, his organs and blood spilled across the carpet. She sat down in his rocking chair, sipping her drink and rocking back and forth slowly.

"It didn't have to be like this" Anna whispered to Marcus, "All you had to do was give me an inch. I was so delusional in love with you, you could have ground me under your boot heel for another ten years. You threatened another child Marcus. You never did know why I agreed to put Chris up for adoption. It had nothing to do with what you wanted, it was because I wanted her as far from you as possible. You, and Tagger"

Upon getting raped by Tagger, Tagger had given her a phone number to contact him by. He was a rapist and a murderer, but he wanted to be there as a father! She had sworn she would never get in contact with him, but now Anna had no choice.

Some how she made it to the phone, and before she knew it, she had dialed his number.

"Hello Anna" Tagger whispered, knowing who was on the other end before she said anything.

"Tagger" Anna whispered. "Get over here"

"Is it something I'll want to see?" Anna looked at Marcus.

"You bet it is"

* * *

"This was all?" Tagger asked, looking at Marcus. An hour earlier, that kind of remark would have shocked Anna, but now she was to tired to care. "Oh well, bleach, a shower curtain, a sponge, now"

Anna got Tagger these tools, and as if helped by some magical force, Tagger had everything cleaned up within forty five minutes. He wrapped Marcus up in the shower curtain.

"Help me load this in my car" Anna nodded, and followed behind Tagger. As she passed by the blood knife on the counter, Anna picked it up, not knowing what she was doing.

Anna opened the trunk, and Tagger dropped the body in. He slammed it shut, and turned to face Anna.

"Marcus ran out on you" Tagger said, "Do you understand?" Anna nodded. "Good. I wont let anything happen to my seed, don't you forget it" Tagger walked to the front of the car. As soon as the door slammed, Anna did something she never thought she could do.

She smashed the back tail-light with the handle of the knife. Tagger didn't notice, instead driving off leaving Anna standing there.

Anna walked back, back to the living room, completely numb. She collapsed in the rocking-chair, only able to enjoy it for a moment, when suddenly she became aware that her legs were sopping wet.

Picking up the phone, Anna punched in three numbers.

"Yes, hello? My name is Anna Kendle, and I'm going into labor"

* * *

She was beautiful. Serene, peaceful. Wrapped in pink cloth, a cap on her head, her eyes closed. Anna held her daughter, her second child, in her arms.

"Welcome to the world Angela" Anna whispered, "Prepare to be enchanted"

"She's beautiful" Alistar whispered. Anna turned to him and smiled. "You did a great job" A nurse standing beside him smiled.

"Thanks" Anna replied. "I-She'll be a great daughter"

Chris hadn't died when Anna had taken a fall. She had survived, probably due to Anna simply willing her daughter alive. Marcus though had wanted one thing, Chris given up for adoption. Anna had agreed, simply because Chris would be away from Marcus, far away.

When Anna had become pregnant again, Marcus had wanted the same thing. This time though, Anna had gotten back in contact with an old friend, Alistar Duncan. The recently married Alistar Duncan, who wanted a child. The Alistar Duncan whose wife was unable to get pregnant.

"Is their anything you want?" Alistar asked, "Anything you need?" Anna sighed, and shook her head.

"I need you to take Angela" Anna said, "Never tell her about me, can you do that?"

"Anna"

"Promise me!"

"...I promise"

* * *

Tagger never appeared at the hospital. By now he was probably rotting in a jail cell because of a dead body in his trunk.

Anna was released from the hospital without incident. She didn't return home, instead, she went to the bank, and withdrew all the money her husband had that she could get her hands on.

Hoenn held no appeal to her anymore. If the bank wanted her house, they could have it. Anna took only her car, and all of her money. She bought a first-class ticket to Sinnoh, and left her car in long term parking.

Anna had been forced to park in the parking deck of the Slateport International Airport. The parking deck was across the street from the main building, and the two were connected by a bridge over the street.

The bridge was strangely deserted as Anna walked across it that night. Above her hung a pale moon, full and lonely. Anna was dressed in a dress, the only kind of clothing she owned (Marcus liked his women fancy). She planned on burning it when she got to Sinnoh. She also wore her pearl necklace, the only piece of jewelry she didn't pawn.

Her purse hung heavy on her shoulder, but Anna could barely feel it. Her heart was calm to the point it had almost quit beating. She was leaving Hoenn, Tagger, Marcus, may they all rot in hell.

"Leaving so soon Anna" Now Anna's heart did stop. She flipped around, to see Tagger behind her. In his hand he held some kind of blade. "You didn't even bother to say good-bye"

"How did you get out?" Anna asked.

"Is that really important?" Tagger asked. Anna turned to run, but Tagger was on her in an instant. "Where is my child!?"

Hands around her throat, she couldn't breath.

"G-Go to hell" Anna rasped. Tagger snarled and threw Anna into the ground. He then dropped on her, knees in her stomach. Anna screamed, but it didn't matter.

"Where is my child?" Tagger screamed, blade at her throat, "I'm only going to ask you once!"

"W-Which one?" Anna growled.

"...Excuse me?"

"Which one? Angela or Chris? Chris didn't die you bastard, I just told you that to keep him (lie about the gender) away from you" Anna grinned. "You will search for a thousand thousand years, and you will never find that child"

Tagger's face turned cherry red. Screaming, her stabbed Anna in the neck over and over again, killing her.

* * *

I stared at my mother, stunned by what she had told me.

"Chris...Chris is alive?" I asked.

"Christina is her name" Enfer said, "And she was adopted through the New Hope agency in New Bark. In Johto Angela, you have to go to Johto. When this is over, when you've killed Tagger, you must find your sister"

"I-I can't, I'm not strong enough"

"Yes you are" Enfer whispered. "Tagger believes himself to be superior. Show him that he isn't, turn your b-back on him, you will kill him. Pr-promise me Angela, you will kill him. Then you will find Christina. T-tell her...Tell her I loved her as much as you" Enfer whispered.

"I will...mama" I said. Enfer smiled at this, and softly closed her eyes. With one shuddering breath, I knew my mother was dead.

I didn't cry though. I should have, but I had turned that energy into something else. Rage. Rage against the monster who did this to my mother, my father, the most evil bastard the world over.

I walked over to Michael, and nudged him. It took a moment, but he came around.

"Angela?" Michael pushed himself up, and saw Enfer. "Oh my God!"

"Worry about that later" I said, "The man who killed her is waiting for us. His name is Jerry Tagger, and he has to die"

"Angela, we need help"

"No we don't!" I shrieked. "No more help, no more running, its now or never. Either Tagger dies, or we die. He killed my mother today, and for that he will pay with his life"


	128. One Selfless Act

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXXVIII: One Selfless Act**

Robin watched as Michael walked away from her room. With her good arm, Robin unclipped Celest's pokeball. She twirled the ball in her fingers, staring at it quietly.

"What's left Celest?" She asked. "No home to go to, no more battles to prepare for, no family waiting for" Robin looked up out her window, "For me? What the hell is that?"

Outside of Robin's window, she could see a solid man riding a Skarmory, with an Arcanine biting its tail blade. "Alright, now I've gotta take a look"

* * *

"Tagger is somewhere in there" I said to Michael. "We have to kill him, we have no choice"

"Tagger is the man who shot...killed Enfer" Michael stated. I nodded. "You believe he was the man who shot up the field, and killed our friends?"

"Not only did he do that, he was that man in the woods" I said, "I know that he was, their is no doubt. We have to do this now Michael, we have to kill this fucker"

"We could die Angela"

"I know" I growled, "I'm more then prepared for that. I don't care if it costs me my life, we have to kill that bastard"

"Damn it Angela, we don't have guns. You can at least use your attacks, I have nothing. What do you expect us to do to fight him? How can we be expected to fight him?"

"I don't know" I growled, "But we will figure it out. We're doing this now Michael. No more debates, no more arguments, no more fighting, no more running. We can't leave until he's dead, so he must die"

"Alright Angela" Michael said, "Let's do this" His heart was pounding, and I could practically smell the fear on him, but I ignored it. We walked to the metal door of the warehouse, where Tagger waited.

Michael touched the doorknob, gently first, testing it. He then twisted it, pulling the door open. The inside of the warehouse beckoned us, black, a devouring mouth.

"No stopping now" I said, leading us in. Michael followed cautiously, despite barely being able to see inside.

All around us where boxes of things. Not big box, but thousands of them, stacked one on top of each other, set up in a twisting labyrinth. I doubt it was originally set up like this, but I suspect a certain supernatural force had rearranged them this way. Who knows, maybe the workers here just liked making mazes out of boxes of bathroom supplies.

"Shout" I whispered to Michael.

"Excuse me?"

"Shout, let him know we're here. We want him to know we're here"

"Alright" Michael cupped his hands "Tagger!" His voice echoed through out the warehouse. "We're here! Come on out you piece of shit" No response, not a sound from Tagger.

"Angela, I think I know how we can see him" Michael said, lifting me up so I could see over the boxes. Far away from us, a wooden platform stood over twenty feet off the ground. A set of rickety wooden stairs lead to the top of it, from there we could see the inside of the entire warehouse.

Michael pulled off his shoes, and sat them atop a box. With that, we began to slowly, careful not to make a sound. We soon came to a split, one leading right, one leading left.

"Which way Angel? Your choice" Michael whispered.

"Left. We need to get closer to that platform" We turned, walked down the left path, only to discover a dead end. "What the fuck!?"

Now I know my dear listener, you think me and Michael were stupid for going into the warehouse without a weapon. We were stupid, stupid with rage. We both wanted revenge, Michael for his pokemon, I for my mother. That monster had killed my mother, and had tried to ruin my life. He had to pay for it.

All of the boxes looked the same, rows of black shapes surrounding us, smothering us. The air was unnaturally hot, but we couldn't tell. We were driven foreword by our rage and revenge desire.

Tagger didn't appear though, no matter how many corners we turned. The shadows were just shadows, none of them hiding him. Every corner we approached, we approached knowing he was there, only to find him missing. Luckily, we were almost to the platform.

"What if he isn't here?" I asked, my voice weighed by disappear, "What if he escaped? What do we do then?"

"I'm sure he's here" Michael said, "We just need to know where. Where is he?"

"I'm here" Tagger snarled. We heard it just in time to see Tagger jump through the boxes, tackling Michael. "Greetings boy"

"Get off of him you fucker!" I screamed, leaping onto his neck and biting him. Tagger grabbed me by the scruff of my neck, and ripped me off. I hit one of the boxes, and slid to the ground, getting a good look at Tagger.

In his right hand was his gun, around his waist was something unidentifiable. He aimed his gun at me. Michael lunged, getting Tagger around the leg, pulling him to his knees. Before Tagger could react, I summoned a shadow ball, firing it at his gun arm.

Now, a shadow ball hurts pokemon, and burns humans. Energy surged across his arm, unintentionally causing Tagger to sling his gun from pain. It went over Michael's head, landing behind our row of boxes.

"Get off of me" Tagger snarled, punching Michael in the face. Michael grabbed his bleeding nose, letting go of Tagger, giving him a chance to stand up again.

I tried to run, but Tagger pulled his leg back, delivering a kick to my face. It got me above my left eye, blood, I was bleeding.

"Stop it!" Michael snarled, head butting Tagger in the stomach. He didn't go down though, no he seemed to be amused by this.

"You think that'll stop me?" Tagger whispered, before driving his knee into Michael's face. Michael fell, and Tagger kicked him in the ribs, a sickening crack filling the air. I had to stop this, had to get him away.

"Tagger!" I snarled, "Let him go! He's not the one you want! I am!" Tagger paused, and looked at me. I ran, running over the knocked over boxes, towards the stairs. Tagger laughed slowly, and began to follow me, ignoring Michael and his gun.

"You're dead Angela Duncan. You hear me? Your dead"

I ran, as fast as I could up the stairs, three at a time. My heart pounded, I could feel it in my throat. I had to ignore that for now. I made it to the top of the platform, Tagger not far behind.

By now, I was bleeding from my head injury, and was partially blinded. I could see several gas tanks used in gas grills, all stacked up here. Why were they stacked up here, in such a disorganized way? No idea, it didn't matter. I was trapped, trapped at the top of the stairs.

"Gonna get ya" Oh God. I flipped around, to see a lumbering shape approaching me.

I didn't recognize Tagger at first. The cut above my left eye was bleeding heavily, where Tagger had kicked me still burned. My other eye told me this was Tagger, this grinning, slowly approaching mad thing.

"Gonna get you Angela" Tagger whispered. I saw him unsheathe something from his belt, the thing I had seen earlier. Something long and sharp and, oh God a knife. "Gonna skin you, and mount you Angela Duncan"

I backed up slowly from the maniac. I should have ran past him, jumped over the edge of the platform, gotten away. To tired, could barely stand up, head pounding. I'd been running for so long now, it was all I could do to back away.

Taggers right arm hung at his side. I could see the burn on arm where my shadow ball had struck him. Blood dribbled onto the wood, the only sound produced by Tagger. Not even his footsteps made a noise, only his voice and his blood.

"Come here you" Tagger snarled, running at me. He lunged, bleeding arm outstretched to grab me. I jumped, and Tagger ended up slamming into one of the containers of gas. "Fucking bitch"

"Bite me" I ran, but my feet took me no where. No, instead, I felt something pulling on my tail. Tagger's hand, holding me.

Tagger had a death grip on my tail. I twisted my body around, and bit down hard on his hand. It didn't affect him at all. Tagger pushed himself up with his other arm, taking me up with him. He looked me in the eye, and I let go of his hand.

"You have caused me a lot of trouble for a long time" Tagger said with glee. "But now you are at my mercy"

"Mercy this" I growled, forming a shadow ball. The energy emerged, crackled for a second, and dissolved before I could fire it. I tried again, this time forming nothing but air. "Damn it"

"What's the matter Angela" Tagger growled, "You scared yet" To far away to bite him. Tagger lifted up the knife, "Are you scared now"

"P-Please God" I whispered, fear clutching at my heart with its icy fingers.

"This is God" Tagger snarled, pressing the knife against my throat.

"Put her down you fucker"

"What the?" Tagger spun around, to see Michael there. Michael, bleeding from his side, from his head, but not dying. No, he was able to stand up, and hold up the gun Tagger had dropped, pointing it between the monsters eyes.

"Put her down" Michael growled again. His eyes were harder then diamonds, blacker then coal. Tagger laughed.

"What are you going to do boy?" Tagger asked, "Fire the gun? Don't kid around boy, you can't kill me. I am your superior, in every way" Tagger then did something both Michael and me were shocked by. He dropped me onto the ground.

I hit the wood hard, sending a jolt up my spine. I opened my mouth but not a sound came out. Gotta ignore it, get out of here. I pushed myself up, onto all fours, and took my place beside Michael.

"You think you're better then me boy" Tagger said, "You call be bastard, monster, fucker. Fine, go ahead and kill me. Do that boy and I truly will be victorious. I will have proven my superiority, by turning you into the monster you claimed I am. I am armed with a knife, you with a gun. I am not attacking you, but you still wish to kill me! Out of revenge for what I have done, not to save anyone. Go ahead and get it over with boy"

"As you wish" Michael growled.

"Michael, stop" I called out. He froze, and looked down at me, like he didn't know why I was telling him to stop. I had to stop him though, my mother had told me how to finish Tagger.

"Angela, what are you doing?" Michael asked, letting the gun dip.

"Don't shoot him" I said, "You can't shoot him"

"You always do what your pokemon say?" Tagger giggled, "No wonder your such a pussy" Michael growled, and lifted the gun again. "That's it, do it"

"Michael, do not shoot him" I ordered.

"Do it boy. Kill me!"

"Do it Michael and it won't matter" I said, "Tagger will win, and all of our friends will have died in vein" Michael's hand shook, his determination faltered. With a sigh, he lowered the gun. Despite this, Tagger still did not attack us.

"Damn it Angela" Michael whispered.

"I know" I whispered, "Now, give the gun to Tagger" That got both of their attention, like I was completely out of my mind.

"Angela, their is no way I'm going to do that" Michael said.

"Do it" I said, "You have to. Give him the gun"

"You've flipped! I'm not"

"DO IT" With a scream of frustration, Michael handed the gun to Tagger, proving he loved me enough to trust my crazy ideas.

"You really are stupid boy" Tagger laughed, pointing the gun at Michael. "I am not bound by your morals and rules, I will kill you"

"No you won't Tagger" I said, "You won't, and I know why"

"You know what?" He crackled, "You know nothing. You are to weak to kill me, and you know it. You can't stop me, for I am a superior man"

_Tagger believes himself to be superior. Show him that he isn't, turn your b-back on him, you will kill him._

My mothers words, echoing in my giant ears. There was the solution, that was how to truly beat Tagger.

"You won't kill me Tagger, because you're not superior" I said. "You have tried repeatedly to kill me, but you can't do it on your own. You've had to have help from your pokemon. You've had to try a sneak attack by your pokemon. You had to have us hand the gun to you!"

"Shut up!" Tagger shouted.

"You couldn't kill us Tagger, you pitiful little man" I said. "You tried over and over again, and failed. Well, I don't care any more. I don't care about you Tagger, you don't scare me. You don't intimidate me. You sicken me. I'm turning my back on you. You're nothing. You're shit" I walked past Michael, back to Tagger, and paused atop the stairs.

"If you want to kill us, go ahead. Shoot us from behind, and forever confirm your identity as a weak, common man. Come on Michael" Michael nodded, and turned away from Tagger.

"W-What do you think you're doing!?" Tagger snarled. We started down the stairs. "Get the fuck back here! Face me!"

"Get bent"

"Inferior!? Common!?" Tagger cried through clenched teeth. "You're nothing! This means nothing to me! Nothing!" Tagger pointed the gun, hand shaking. Shaking so hard, he couldn't fire it.

Tagger couldn't kill them, not like a common man. He couldn't live like a common man, no point in living. Tagger moved himself over to one of the gas tanks, and lay against it. He opened his mouth, and inserted the barrel of the gun in.

_I am superior!_

Tagger fired, ending his life and exploding the tanks instantly.

* * *

Michael and I were at the bottom the stairs when Tagger fired. We heard the shot. We also heard the Kraaa-Kooom of exploding gas.

"What in the hell!?" The platform exploded in a fire ball, destroying Taggers body. A piece of the platform fell towards Michael, preparing to crush him. He looked up as it fell, not moving out of the way though.

"Michael, move!" I screamed, running and jumping. At that moment, I didn't think about my safety. I didn't think about myself at all, all I thought about was Michael.

I struck him in the back, knocking him foreword, out of the way.

"Angela!" The burning wood struck me, knocking me down, pinning me to the ground. It pierced me through my lungs, my stomach, my heart. Michael continued to scream my name, I think he tried to pull the burning wood off of me, but I couldn't hear it because of my pounding heart.

Not Meowth told me a life can only be saved through an act of absolute selflessness. Michael's life saved, mine gone. I would have expected my death to be something grander then crushed under a piece of wood, but life and death don't work like that. When death comes, it comes no matter how stupid it seemed. Some how though, I could live with it.

Laughing internally at the irony, I dropped my head to the ground and died.


	129. Penultimate

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXXIX: Penultimate**

"Oh my God" Robin cried, as half of the warehouse exploded in a fire ball. Debree fell to the ground, smashing into glowing pieces that scattered everywhere. Without a second thought, Robin tossed Celest out.

"What's going on?" He then noticed the flaming warehouse. "Oh my dear"

"No shit, we need to get in there right now" Robin ordered. Celest ripped the metal door off it's hinges with his mind, releasing a flood of smoke. Robin charged foreword, into the smoke.

She ran bent over, trying to avoid as much smoke as possible. Her eyes and throat burned, as if they had been stripped bloody. Robin ignored it, had to ignore it. The fire by now had spread to the roof, but the roof hadn't collapsed, Celest could see to it not falling on her head.

"Angela! God damn it, Angela I'll get you out of here, I swear. Angela, come on wake up, you've gotta help me some. Someone help me! Please!"

"Michael!" Michael kept grabbing at the large, flaming piece of debree. His hands were wrapped in ripped shirt, but they were still burned through it. His face was almost black from soot, and Robin could smell burnt flesh from across the room.

Robin moved faster then she would have thought she could, given the circumstance. Her eyes burned and her chest clogged, none of it mattered.

"Michael!" Robin tackled him more or less, trying to move him from the debree. Instead, she had the same effect of say tackling a brick wall. In fact, a brick wall may have had more give. "Michael, we have to go!"

"I'm not leaving her" Michael stated, stubborn voice. His eyes were dark, and his voice empty.

"Michael, we don't have time for this, we have to go"

"I'm not going" Michael repeated, as he tried to grab the burning wood again. It was then that Robin looked down to see why he was so focused on the debree.

An Umbreon head and left foreleg stuck out of the debree. Blood had pooled around both of their feet now. Angela, Angela dead. Crushed to death under the debree. Building burning, think about it later, act now.

"You can't help Angela" Robin said, voice cracking. "You have to get out of here, you can't"  
"Get the fuck away from me" Michael snarled, slamming his elbow into Robin's stomach. Robin fell straight back, landing on her butt with a hard thunk!

"We don't have time for this" Robin growled, flipping around to Celest. "Celest, punch him"

"What?" Celest slammed his fist across Michael's jaw, tossing Michael onto his side. He then picked Michael up, and flipped him over his shoulder.

"Come on we have to" Robin gave a lingering look to Angela's body, "We have to go, now! Teleport" Celest touched Robin, and the two vanished in a flash of light, as the roof caved in on them. By the time they reappeared outside, the sound of sirens could finally be heard.

* * *

"Greetings Angela" I was floating. Floating in Eternity, oh crap, not again.

"Wha!?" My head snapped up, or my mind snapped up. It's difficult to describe being in Eternity, since you're not physically there. Of course, since physically I wasn't there, I was there as a human now. Not an Umbreon.

"You did good" Not Meowth in front of me, smiling at me. "You found one selfless act, you saved a life"

"I was told, if I did one selfless act, I would survive" I said, "So...what? Does that mean I'm actually alive?"

"...No" Not Meowth replied, "You're not alive. You died saving Michael. Because of that, Michael will live. A selfless act will save a life Angela, that much is true. The thing is, a selfless act is a sacrifice, and you can not sacrifice to save yourself. It saved a life, just not your life" I should have been destroyed by this, but nope. Instead, I suddenly was okay. Their wasn't a single problem now that I was dead, none that mattered anyways.

"I should scream at you" I said. "But I'm calm. I just...I want to know one thing. Why me? Why did I have to die?" I blinked back mental tears, "I just, if I worked so hard, why did I have to die?" Not Meowth sighed.

"I returned" Not Meowth began "and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to the intelligent, nor yet favor to men of knowledge; but time and chance happened to them all" I cocked my head.

"What the hell does that mean?"  
"Loosely translated" Not Meowth said, "Life isn't fair. Their are only two things completely unbiased Angela. Life is unbiased, and death is unbiased. Things happen in both Angela, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. They both die Angela, it's temporary. Favor in your life does not matter, what you do with it is what matters" I shrugged.

"Why not just take me to the other side?" I asked, "Why torment me?"

"Because you're not okay Angela" Not Meowth replied, "I can tell. I'm here to give you solace. Now come with me"

"Where are we going?" I asked. A smile crossed Not Meowth's muzzle.

"The multiverse"

"He's asleep Ms. Dobins" The stern faced nurse snapped, "When Mr. Luccelli wakes up, we will tell you" Robin sighed, and returned to her seat in the emergency waiting room. While no time had seemed to pass where I was, all of history was occurring at the same time on every earth. For Robin, almost four hours had passed.

Robin had been cleared without incident. Michael though, Michael had been emitted into the hospital. Currently, he was unconscious in his room. For Robin though, she was at an all new low.

"It doesn't matter" Robin whispered. Now she had all six balls out, in both hands. Held within her fingers, they looked so small and easily breakable. "Where do I go? Can't battle anymore, I haven't enjoyed it for months. My pokemon don't like me, even Celest. Celest is...polite. He cares about me, but only as a pokemon to their trainer. Hell, maybe as a trainer to their pokemon!

"Michael...Angela is dead. Angela who he spent years loving, lost once, only to get her back! Got her back inspire of dealt, and now what? He's just going to move on? Can he do that? Hell, I couldn't...I know I couldn't move on" Robin began to cry softly. "Daddy, I miss you so much. What do I do? I've got no where to go! What do I do daddy?" She paused. "Maybe their is one thing. I need to talk to you, now"

"How can I help?"

Below me floated thousands of Earth's, vibrating inches from each other. Not Meowth floated beside me, above the Earth's.

"Why we here?" I asked. Not Meowth looked at me.

"Angela, do you believe in God?"

"Uh, I dunno, I'm an agnostic" I said. Not Meowth nodded.

"What about people?" Not Meowth asked. "I don't mean, do you believe people exist? Do you really believe in them?"

"What? Shoot, I dunno what the question is! What the hell does that even mean?" Not Meowth smiled, and moved over on earth.

"You want to know what this one is?" He asked.

"Shoot"

"It's an Earth where Flash is alive" Not Meowth said. "Not only that, but he told you how he feels earlier, and you reciprocated"

"I recipra...what?"

"You love him back" Not Meowth said. "It causes a lot of problems Angela. More then even in this world. You want to know what though? Flash is happier in this world then he was in your world, but he still would have chosen to live in your world"

"Why?" I asked. "Why in the fuck would he choose to do that?"

"If he had the choice, simply because Flash would rather live in a world where you were happy. Angela, Flash would have given his life for others. He understood that life is unfair. He lived every day happy because of that"

"Is their a point to this?" I asked.

"Just perspective" Not Meowth said. "Angela, you're not the only reborn out there"

"I know that" I said, "I've know that since I met Enfer"

"You're also not the only reborn to suffer. To kill themselves" Not Meowth looked down, at a new earth. "In this world, six over from your world, a boy shot himself in the head. Jonathan, he died from that. He will gain perspective, understanding"

"I gained perspective" I said.

"I know" Not Meowth said. "You're not letting go. You're calm, but you're not letting go at the same time. Why is that Angela?"

"I, I don't know" I said, "I just" I touched my paw against the earth. Instantly, I could see it. All of it, the Jonathan boy. I could see every person he had ever met. I could see their pain, their suffering.

"How? How did" The words froze within me, I couldn't get them out. "I could see how his suicide effected everyone. It's like...ripples" I flipped to face Not Meowth. "How the fuck is this supposed too give me solace?"

"What would you do in his shoes?" Not Meowth asked.

"Not killed myself!" I cried. "Damn it, you already know if I could I would"

"What about how your rebirth effected others?" Not Meowth said. "Not humans, pokemon. Look here" We were above another earth now. "Look here, what do you see?" I sighed, and looked down.

"What do you know! I see earth, yet again. An earth I'm not touching, cause seeing everyone's mind all at once is wonky" Not Meowth grinned.

"Okay, fine. This is the earth of Solis, a natural born Ralts. For the first time in his life, a short life, he gets to meet reborns. A mother and a daughter. Solis would love for them to be human, to not have died. On the other hand though, and he may never admit it, his life is better for them having died. Or, it will be better, a nonlinear existence makes it hard to describe the passage of time"

"Okay, so he's glad they're alive" I said. "Or at least reborn. What's the point?"

"Angela, you can't find comfort because you don't want to die" Not Meowth said, "Not again. You didn't want your death to be random. You wanted to die for a purpose, and you did. Yet, you can't take comfort in that. You can except that you're dead, but not why you died"

"So what!?" I cried. "I'm allowed to be upset! It isn't fair that I died damn it, Tagger should have been the only one. I made my one sacrifice! I shouldn't have to die"

"It isn't all random Angela" Not Meowth said. "The first boy, Jonathan. He chose to commit suicide, as you did. Was that random"

"Of course not! We chose...we chose to die"

"Exactly" Not Meowth said. "For the Solis the Ralts though, he met two reborns. Two who altered the way his life turned out. Was that by his choice?"

"No, that was random. Wait? You're telling me life is random, except it's all planned?"

"Not quite" Not Meowth said. "Every random act in life can be traced back to a planned decision. Their is an order in the randomness. Angela, you were going to die. You could have avoided that, but I knew you wouldn't. You were good and kind. Your destiny had been set up from that moment you put your head in the noose. That is how you find solace. Your life was not random occurrences and it was not all planned. At the end of the day, you saved a life, forever altering someone else's life by your actions. For that, your life mattered. Your life is what you make it, and I know that is what makes you happy. Your suicide restored your faith in people, your faith in things you couldn't control, and it was what caused you to save a life. Your choices caused all of these random occurrences to shape you into who you became, a woman who saved Michael's life. In that, you can be happy"

* * *

"Ugh, gah. Angela, gotta escape" Michael mumbled. IV in his arm, bandages around his head. In his head though, he wasn't in a hospital bed.

Michael was in hell. Running, running from a monster. Covered in flames, trying to grab Angela.

"I'll save you" Michael cried, "I promise I'll save you"

"Michael..." Angela groaned. His chest was sticky with blood, her blood. Several puncture wounds had appeared in her chest.

"I'll save you Angela" Michael chanted. Angela had stopped breathing. "I can save you! I can do anything!"

"GAH" Michael bolted upright in bed. He was sweating, panicking. "Oh God, Angela?"

"Mr. Luccelli?" The door to his room slammed open, as a nurse rushed in. "Mr. Luccelli you need to calm down. The doctor will be in here in just a moment"

"Where is my Umbreon!?" Michael snarled.

"Mr. Luccelli!"

"Bring me my Umbreon God damn it!"

"What happened to my friends?" I asked. "On my world, what happens to the ones who survived, who aren't with me?"

* * *

"Titan and Dex did return to the village" Not Meowth said. "Things will be better. Louis though...I will not comment" He sighed. "Not every story has a happy ending. His will not unless someone steps in"

"And Bane?" I asked. "What of him?"

"He returned to his village a stranger" Not Meowth said. "A battered casualty of war. He will come back to life though, he has his own enemies to fight. Do not cry for Bane, he will be fine" Not Meowth smiled. "Angela, take a look at this world"

I floated over beside Not Meowth to another earth, this one brown and orange. "It's a world of war, where war has spread beyond Orre everywhere. One of your friends though fights, fights for peace"

"Who is it that" Not Meowth shoved my face into the earth. Instantly, I could see. A boy, teenager, with green hair. From Orre, around his neck was some kind of dream catcher necklace. As a human he meant nothing to me, but as a Mightyena...

"Shu" I whispered, "That's Shu. How did" I flipped, to see Not Meowth no longer beside me. Instead, Shu floated beside me. "Gah!"

"Hello Angela" Shu said in a sullen voice.

"Shu!? What are you doing here?" I cried, almost giggling. "How are you?"

"He is like me now" Not Meowth said, suddenly appearing beside Shu. "He is now what you would call a Not Pokemon"

"You're...Not Mightyena?" I asked. Shu smiled softly.

"It's not linear Angela" He whispered. "I'm not linear. I always have been Not Mightyena, even when I was human or pokemon. I had to see you though, for while you were here. Before you became again"

"Became again?" I asked, turning to Not Meowth. "What is he talking about?" I returned my attention to Not Shu, but he was gone.

"Became alive again" Not Meowth said, "Before you returned to the human world"

"Returned? What? What are you talking about"

"Follow me Angela, to the third part of the macroverse" Not Meowth said. "Someone is waiting, someone who will explain everything. Follow me into creation"

The earth's vanished. Now, I was not in the void. I was in matter, matter that had no form yet. Energy, thought, all waiting to be shaped. Their was no color, it was beyond color. The world was as I thought it was, anything I thought became.

This was Creation. The realm of pure thought. Beyond matter, it simply was. I floated in Creation, and was greeted by someone I did not expect.

"Hi Angela"

"...Oh my God"


	130. GoodNight Little Girl

**National Suicide Hotline Number: 1-800-784-2433. Call if you ever need help **

**CXXX: Goodnight Little Girl**

"Hello Angela" Robin said. My meta-physic mouth hung open. Despite my lack of a heart, I could hear it pounding in my ears.

Creation had changed, from a blank white into a field. Completely flat, I could see for miles nothing but grass and rocks. Warm sun gently washed over me, and a small breeze caressed my skin.

Robin was dressed in a white pants suit. It was glowing, sun light didn't reflect off of it, light came from it. Her hair was washed and styled, her skin tanned. The thing that stood out most was her eyes. Robin's eyes had always looked empty to me, but today they laughed with joy, sparkled with tears.

"Robin, w-why are you here?" I asked, "H-how are you here?" I moved foreword, my feet treading lightly on grass. The grass bent but never broke, and it was softer then silk. I couldn't feel dirt, or rocks, just a life force underneath me.

"I brought her here" Not Meowth said. He stood behind me, his voice soothed me.

"At my request" Robin said. "I came to make you an offer Angela, one that I'm certain that you will except" She paused for a moment, "Sit Angela"

"Where?" Suddenly, a pair of armchairs emerged from the ground. They were over stuffed, but looked so comfortable, I just had to sit down.

They were comfortable, more so then anything I'd ever sat on when I was alive. I felt like I was floating on air, and in a way I suppose I was. I stretched my legs out, and a footstool appeared before I set them down again.

"I could sit here for ever" Robin giggled, "This place is amazing. I especially like this. Day" She clapped her hands, and suddenly the light vanished. Now a cold moon hung in the sky, standing out among a sea of stars. "Night. I could make it rain, I could...be happy"

"I know, it is amazing" I said, now smiling myself. "It, it's temporary though. It's like a crossroads, between earth, and the two unknowns"

"Three three three" Robin mumbled under her breath.

"What's that?"  
"Nothing" Robin replied. "Angela, do you know what my life is going to be now? When the dust settles, and the drama stops, do you know where I'll be headed?"

"Well, no I guess not. Funny, I'm in this place where time is a solid, and I haven't bothered to look and see how my friends lives turn" Robin burst out crying. "What? What did I say?"

"You-You called me a friend" Robin whispered, turning to me. Her tears shimmered as they rolled down her face. They never hit the ground, they just stopped in mid-air. "I never thought I'd hear it, and I thank you. I curse you also Angela, damn it, because this makes what I have to say next so much harder" Robin returned her gaze to the skyline.

"Angela, I don't have a life back in the world. What skills do I have? None, I have absolutely no marketable skills. I'm good at pokemon battles, but only good. Michael and you were both better. I've already peaked there. I wont go back to school, I was never any good there. I love Michael, but he'll always love you more then me. My pokemon despise me, Celest tolerates me, and I have no family to return to"

"Robin, what are you saying?" Now all of my attention was on her. Robin though almost seemed bored with me.

"I'm going to do one good thing Angela, one absolutely good thing before I die. An absolutely selfless deed, a sacrifice can save a life, do you remember?"

"Yeah, of course I do!" I cried, "Robin, you can't"

"You saved Michael's life with your sacrifice Angela" Robin said, turning to me with a smile, "Now it's time for me to save you"

"Robin, you can't do this!"

"I asked him about it" Robin said, gesturing to the Not Pokemon.

"And you agreed with this!" I screamed at Not Meowth. Before he could say something, Robin held a hand up.

"Don't blame him" Robin said, "It was my idea entirely. I've worked out the details, and it will work like this"

"I will change history" Not Meowth said, "So that, you didn't commit suicide"

"But if she doesn't, Michael will die!"

"No he won't" Not Meowth continued. "Your reality exists as one where one person died on that day. Everything will play out if Robin died, and you lived. You would have traveled with Michael's group, Donny would not have died, but your friends would have. Tagger's actions would remain the same, as would his death"

"But, so many things would be different with me human!" I said.

"Don't worry about them Angela" Not Meowth said, "And not as much would change as you assume. When you return, you will be given a blank slate. You will return to three hours after you died in the warehouse. All of Robin's pokemon will be returned to where Robin found them, never captured. You will only have one pokemon"

"T-the Treecko?" I whispered. "What about the battle against Michael?"

"All records of that will be wiped by me" Not Meowth said, "If people try to think about that battle, their memories will be dim, and eventually they'll forget all together. All human memories will be wiped. The only people who will remember your reality are you, Michael, and your pokemon. No one else"

"You have to agree Angela" Robin said, "Michael needs you" Robin stood up, me standing up beside her. By now I was crying, my tears were warm. I was so sad, but ecstatic at the same time.

"I-Thank you so much Robin"

"Just promise me two things" Robin said, "Promise me, you'll live your life, and you'll take care of my Treecko. Give it the love I couldn't, that you needed"

"I will Robin, I swear" Robin grabbed me in a strong embrace, hugging me for a minute. Finally, she let go, and turned to Not Meowth.

"I'm ready" With out another word, Not Meowth nodded. Suddenly, a doorway of pure light appeared in front of us. It was so bright, I couldn't see the other side. Robin stepped foreword, and looked in. She then turned and smiled. "It's beautiful. I'll be waiting for you guys"

"Good-bye Robin" I whispered. Robin stepped foreword, and out of my life forever. I watched, as the doorway slowly closed tight. I sat down on the dark grass, staring at nothing. Not Meowth came over, and sat down beside me. "Robin, she gave up her life"

"Robin didn't have much life" Not Meowth said. "It isn't nice, but she spent her entire life justifying her existence through others. Maybe now she'll find some peace"

"I suppose so...Antony" I said. Not Meowth smiled softly.

"When did you figure it out?" Antony Gabriel Luccelli asked me.

"I had wondered why you picked me for a long time" I said, "When I saw Shu though, I just knew. I knew who you were, I remembered Michael mentioning his brother. You protected me, because you were helping me. For that, I thank you" I sighed. "So, what now?"

"Now this" Antony said. He tackled me, and knocked me over. I fell, through the ground, through creation, into...

* * *

The hospital! I jerked awake, gasping for breath. Ice fingers were in my chest, wrapped around my lungs, grasping them. I coughed, bent over, head between my legs. It took me a minute to realize I had legs.

Slowly, I straightened my back out. I had knees, in blue jeans, honest to goodness knees. With feet, in crappy tennis shoes. I clenched, and unclenched my toes. They worked. I straightened my arms out in front of me. My arms were tanned, and had little to no fat on them. I made a fist, then straightened my fingers.

The sight of my fingers, my ten fingers, almost made me weep. It was a beautiful sigh. I held them in front of my face, fighting not to cry. Each finger was a work of art, even if they were missing some defensive claws.

I then got a look at my body. My much better body. When traveling with Michael, his body had gone from stringy to muscular. Fourteen months worth of walking had done that to him. For me, it had made me thinner. A lot thinner. Their was still fat pockets in my sides, my boobs, my thighs, but otherwise most of the fat had been sucked out.

My clothing was so loose it was barely hanging on. My pants were the only thing holding on, pants I'd never seen before today. I must have bought them on my long, long journey. My hair was dirty, and my skin was sooty. My shirt was torn, maybe burned a little. I didn't care though.

"Thank you Robin" I whispered, "Thank you so much" I looked around, trying desperately to get my surroundings. I was in a waiting room, a hospital waiting room. Their were people all around me, most of them asleep, some awake and waiting. In front of me was a desk with a nurse behind it.

I pushed myself up and took one step. I stumbled, and went down to my knees, not falling over though. Damn it, two unsteady legs, no tail for balance, how did I ever get around like this?

One step at a time. I put one foot in front of the other, barely bending my knees, doing a sort of robot walk. No one noticed me, not even the nurse, as I stumbled to the front desk. The nurse sighed, and looked up.

"Ms. Duncan, if you want to see Mr. Luccelli, go ahead. Don't keep bugging us and asking if he's awake. Go see for yourself"

"M-Mr. Luccelli?" I asked. "What room is he in?" Now the nurse stared at me.

"Ms. Duncan, are you sure you don't need to see a doctor?"

"Please! Just tell me!" The nurse shrugged.

"342" She said. "But I wouldn't" That was all I heard, because I had taken off towards the elevator. When I stopped in front of the elevators, I realized I had been running. Though mostly because I hadn't been thinking about it. Thinking about it made me over think, and fowl things up.

"Good to know, from now on don't think" I said to myself. The elevator came, and I went up to the third floor.

I sat with my back pressed against the elevator. What would I say in this situation? What could I possibly say?

The doors binged open, and I took off like a shot. This wing of the hospital wasn't nearly as busy as the emergency room had been. My shoes smacked against the tile of the empty hall, as I passed door after door, coming to 342.

"Michael!" I cried, bursting in. "Michael?" The room was empty. Empty, except for on the bed was a shoe box. I walked over, to see what was in the large box.

An Umbreon body. Oh God, my body. Gingerly, I touched the burned fur, my fingers ran along where the wood had pierced my flesh. Except, it wasn't my flesh. It was Robin's flesh. Not Meowth had changed history, so Robin had taken my place.

"T-thank you Robin" I whispered, crying again. "T-Thank you so much" I broke down finally, every emotional barrier smashing, releasing it all at once. I was so caught up, I didn't hear a toilet flush. I did however, hear the door open.

"Angela?" I looked up, at Michael. He looked queasy, like he'd been throwing up, but also confused. Confused as to why I was here, why I wasn't dead.

"Hi Michael" I said. Michael slowly approached me, and I him.

"Where, where did you come from?" He asked.

"Does it matter?" I replied. "Michael, I'm sorry. Sorry for everything that's happened, sorry for what I've done. Can you forgive me"

"Angela I-you can't leave me! Never again!"

"I swear"

"Oh thank God" We embraced each other, our lips touching for the first real time. Electricity shot through us as we held each other, kissing each other, not a word said.

**

* * *

**

55 Years Later

Time had not been kind to Angela Duncan. Her hair was all white her left eye was almost blinded by cataracts, her teeth were false. If you asked her though, it was worth it to live the life she had.

"I loved him" Angela said, relating the story to her dear listener. "Michael was your grandfather, and I love him now as much as I did then. Even if he is no longer with us, I love him" A fire crackled as she talked, heating the small apartment Angela called her own.

"Was that story true grandma?" Ariel Fisk asked. Ariel Fisk, grand daughter of Angela Duncan, and the spitting image of her at ten years old. Sure her hair was cut short, and she was thinner, but her eyes were blue. The same blue of Anna, and Angela.

"Of course it's true my dear listener" Angela said. "I lived through death not once, but twice in that fourteen months. It was one of the happiest times of my life" Slowly, her gaze turned towards the mantle of her fire place.

Above it stood pictures of her and her pokemon. Her and her friends. A police captains badge stood there, encased in glass. A single pokeball in a small stand stood there. A lifetime of memories, each bringing a smile to her face.

"Mom says your full of shit though grandma" Ariel said, getting a laugh out of her grandmother.

"Your mother says that because she doesn't want to admit it" Angela said, "She believes also. She always has, though she'll deny it to her last breath. She's stubborn, a common trait with women in our family"

The door leading into the apartment opened, breaking the silence and getting the attention of Angela and Ariel.

"We're here" Alice Duncan-Fisk said.

"Sorry we're late" Her dick-weed (In Angela's mind) husband Phil said, "Traffic was a beast today" Since school started, the bus had dropped Ariel off at her grandmothers every afternoon, since her house wasn't on the route. Usually only Alice picked her up, but Phil had had some kind of problem, and today both of them picked her up late.

Ariel stood up, followed by Angela now leaning on a cane. Her legs barely held up her shrunken figure, but that was no excuse to quit trying.

"Sorry we're late ma" Alice said, "I hope she wasn't to much trouble"

"She was fine" Angela whispered, "You being late allowed me to finish my story I've been trying to finish telling"

"Oh really" Alice said with a fake smile. "Phil, take Ariel down to the car" The moron didn't need to be told twice, quickly sweeping his daughter out of the room. The door pulled shut, leaving the two alone. "I suppose now that you've finished the first story, you'll tell her the second"

"I wasn't actually" Angela said, "I was going to ask your permission" Alice sighed, and leaned against a wall.

"I do like that story. It's just, inappropriate for a young girl"

"And the first isn't?" Alice laughed.

"Alright Ma, you've got my permission. Tell her, tell her about the Tabernacle of the Sun, and Virgil, and Desiree. Be careful when telling it Ma, can you?"

"Of course I can" Angela said with a small smile. The mother and daughter embraced each other. "School starts back in January, I'll see her then I assume?"

"You'll see her at Christmas Ma, you know that" Alice headed over to the door, "I love you"

"I love you also Alice" Alice sighed, smiled, and walked out. Angela made her way over to the window, looking down. After a moment, the car holding her family pulled away from the building, and she was alone again.

"You would be happy Michael" Angela whispered. Eventually, death would take her also, as it had taken her friends. Not soon, but eventually. Until then, she had a story to tell.

Angela went back over to her chair by the fire and sat down. As she did, she could swear she almost felt a hand caress her cheek, and a voice whisper in her ear.

"Good-night, little girl"


End file.
